Something More Beautiful
by Gia
Summary: SBBOrg Movement. A fortune teller's meddling results in a 6 year old Yuki. A fortunate catch is that Yuki ages a year every day, but with Akito lingering on the edge of this cloud's silver lining, will a reconciliation between two brothers be possible?
1. Day 1

**Title:** Second Chances

**Author:** Gia

**Archive: **sbborg . cjb . net

**Rating:** G

**Pairing:** None

**Time:** Present time during the anime. However, taking place during summer vacation.

**Summary:** What if Ayame had a second chance to make up for Yuki's childhood? Yuki has reverted into a 6yr-old, with no recollection of his older self. How will everyone react? How will Akito react to this?

**Disclaimer:** I own not a thing.

**Author Notes: **Yuki will age every day until he stops at 16.

Each age Yuki turns; it will be like something totally new. Like, at 5 he was quiet. But at 6, this and this had happened, so he's more like this and this… get it? Hopefully… well, you will as the story progresses, I PROMISE!

I'm not entirely sure of what age Yuki learned to fight, so I'm just going to assume that it's 10, and Kyou learned at 9. And I'm not entirely sure of what age Yuki stopped liking Ayame really.. So I'll put that at a much _older_ age.

Just bear with me! This is my _FIRST_ Fruits Basket Fic!

Also, before you continue, the Tarot Cards I mention and describe are **REAL**. I own my own deck. **But**, I did have to alter the description of the boy. He's really playing a **drum** and not a **flute**.

And, I'm not really positive on how Yuki is with his little bronchi problem, so if I say something about it that doesn't make any sense, please don't review just to go on and on about how it should be like this and that... I seriously don't know all the workings of asthma, but I'd appreciate it if you'd just understand the gist of what I'm trying to do here. Thanks!

**_WAIT!_** I'm not sure as to whether Hatori took care of the Sohmas' even when he was a teenager. I'm guessing he wasn't and someone else was the doctor before him, but since I've no idea, then I'm just putting Hatori as the one who took care of Yuki at least. So Yuki won't be surprised to see Hatori helping him with his medicine and all that. Okay, I think I got everything covered. ;;

* * *

**This chapter is dedicated to:** Red! I owe her so much! She's always stuck by and helped me with Fruits Basket information! THANK YOU RED!

* * *

It was a cool afternoon, the slight breeze toying with their hair. The sounds of laughter, running, and all that came with carnival fun, flitted through the air as a group of six walked along the booths. Summer vacation had just started for the students, and by Tohru's suggestion, they all headed to the carnival.

Unfortunately, Tohru would leave the next day with her two best friends on a trip. She had been very reluctant to go, but the others assured her that she deserved this vacation.

"Oh! Look over there!" Tohru suddenly called, catching everyone's attention. "A fortune teller! Do you want to go?"

Everyone nodded, and they all headed in the direction Tohru led. They arrived at a medium sized tent, royal purple in color, with silver embroidery. A sign was hung over the two drawn flaps, (_"Madam Yumi: One Person At A Time"_), not an extraordinary sign by itself by it wasn't annoyingly flashy.

Yuki turned his face Tohru. "You should go first Honda-san." He gave an encouraging smile. Tohru hesitated, but she was lightened when the boys insisted.

Yuki watched Tohru disappear into the tent and abruptly felt a shudder run through him. Frowning, Yuki unconsciously rubbed his arms in an effort to warm his suddenly shivering body. _Was he coming down with something?_

After about ten minutes, Tohru came back out, gushing about how mystical it seemed and how the woman was very good.

"Ne, Tohru-chan! _Nani ga atta no_?" _What happened?_

"Gomen ne, Shigure-san. I can't tell."

Shigure blinked but shrugged, nonplussed, keeping a cheerful smile on his face. "That's okay. It makes it much more mysterious."

Tohru nodded emphatically in agreement.

One by one, everyone went in. Only Yuki was left, but Kyou was still inside. The neko came out quickly, his face puzzled. "_Wakara nai_.." Kyou whispered to himself, walking slowly. _I don't understand.._

"_Sou desu ne, baka neko_?" _Is that so, stupid cat?_

Yuki raised an eyebrow, "I'm not surprised." Yuki drawled softly. Yuki gave a sarcastic grin when Kyou glanced at him sharply, not anticipating Yuki to have heard. He glared at his back as he watched him walk inside.

* * *

**Kyou's Flashback**

"The Death." she spoke, though there was a small hint of a smile in her voice.

Kyou looked at her, wondering if she was joking about the card he pulled out. For someone pulling out a card that represented death, she didn't seem at all worried. Not that he needed any sympathy or anything, it's not like any of this was real to him. Not at all. Tch.

"This card almost never indicates literal death." She supplied.

Kyou inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Instead, it refers to transformation or to casting aside former convictions or beliefs. The demise of deeply held beliefs can be quite painful. But it is a necessary loss to pave the way for a new state of being."

Her eyes met his narrowed ones. "Give not the mouse your apathy, but your empathy."

**End of Kyou's Flashback**

_'What was she talking about?'_ Kyou wondered.

* * *

The smell of herbs and spices assaulted his nose, including the jingling of chimes. In the middle of the tent, stood a lone circular table with an empty chair for him to sit on. A surprisingly young woman sat at the other side, elaborately garbed in gypsy fashion.

She held out a hand, prompting him to sit. He did so nervously, because she kept staring at him. "You are like the other two." She stated softly.

Yuki didn't need to ask who she was referring to and chose to remain silent. He averted his eyes from hers and stared down at the table. What was once a bare top when he came in, now was covered in rich velvet with a long deck of cards atop it. He didn't remember seeing she put them on the table.. But then again, he might've just overlooked it. Shrugging off the sudden sense of paranoia, he waited to see what she would do.

She picked up the deck of cards, and split it four times, letting him pull out one card and laying it on the table.

"The Emperor." she said softly. "Strengths in leadership, building, and organizing. This card in your life says you should be thinking not about going off on your own, but about joining or forming a group."

Yuki kept his face perfectly blank, but inside, he felt just a tad bit contemptuous. _'This isn't real anyway.. Nothing she says is the truth.'_ he told himself consolingly, alarmed that he felt his chest constrict. _'She knows nothing about me.. I don't always go off on my own…'_

"The Lovers." her voice cut him from his thoughts. He hadn't remembered pulling the card, but apparently he did. He felt rising suspicion but squashed it down, telling himself that this just proved he was getting paranoid.

"This card simply indicates love." Her voice slowly drew out the words, as if measuring them. "Love for another, love for humanity, and most importantly, love for one's self. However…"

She gazed at the card shrewdly. "It also indicates the need to make a difficult choice. The key to choosing wisely is to recognize the importance of the choice and to make it lovingly."

He gave a shaky sigh, idly wondering why this was affecting him so much. The woman paused in her gazing and turned to him. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine.." he wordlessly reached out and pulled the next card, wanting nothing more than to just get it over with.

"The Strength." She stared at him, and he forced himself to stare back unflinchingly. "The Strength card may be an indication that your life is out of balance. You may be thinking too much and not feeling enough." Her eyes gleamed oddly. "Denial and deception, whether of others, or yourself, can only come back and haunt you in the end."

Yuki blanched at the ominous words, prompting Madam Yumi to smile. It immediately lighted the mood.

"One last card, Yuki." She held out the deck.

He hesitated, staring at her distrustfully, questioning her silently on how she already knew his name. She remained unaware of his discomfort, simply holding out the deck. With confidence he didn't feel, he reached out and lay down the final card.

"The Sun." Her smile widened. "The Sun appears in a reading, we are being advised to set aside the burdensome concerns of adulthood and allow ourselves to experience the natural, instinctive energy of childhood."

She arranged the fours cards together on the table, so Yuki could contemplate them. Impulsively leaning in to get a closer look, he took his time regarding the cards. His gaze stopped at the last card, The Sun.

It showed a massive and glorious sun that dominated the image on the card. The Sun's expression was blank and rather cryptic; it was neither friendly nor hostile. Below the sun, walked a young boy playing a flute. The boy looked ahead with an innocent, even joyful expression, as if he didn't notice the large sun looming over himm.

Yuki blinked, and suddenly, the boy in the card moved. He watched with morbid fascination as the boy opened his mouth and began speaking, though no sound came forth from the card.

'_What the…?'_

Yuki drew back as if he was burnt. Did he just imagine that? He looked up, ready to ask if she had seen that too but she was nowhere in sight. He stood abruptly, his violet depths scanning inside the tent for any sign of her.

"Oi! Are you done yet?" Kyou called from outside.

Shuddering, Yuki turned and hurried out the tent. The others were standing outside, and they continued walking once Yuki joined. Yuki lagged behind, and seeing this, Shigure walked slower, so he could be in step with him. "What did she say Yuki?"

Keeping his eyes on the ground, Yuki shrugged. "_Shitenai._" _I don't know._

Shigure stared back at him, his normally joking behavior subdued, but he made no move to question him further.

* * *

The sun streamed through the slits of the curtains. Clouds lazily drifted overhead, and the sounds of birds chirping reached the ears of the inhabitants in the house.

"Do you have everything packed Tohru?" Shigure asked, as he handed her the last duffel bag she'd packed.

Yes, but… I won't be back for a long time.."

"_Mundai nai_, Tohru!" _It's not a problem, Tohru!_ Shigure held his hands up reassuringly, trying to emphasize that everything was fun. "Just have fun!"

She smiled gratefully and turned to Kyou who was standing beside Shigure. "Do you know where Yuki-kun is?"

"_Kini shin masen..._" Kyou muttered quietly. _Don't care…_

Shigure nudged Kyou painfully, giving a loud laugh to distract Tohru from asking Kyou to repeat himself. "Eh.. Don't worry. Our Yuki probably slept in late."

Tohru brightened. "I see. Please tell him I said goodbye, I don't want to wake Yuki-kun from his sleep."

Shigure nodded, and the two waved goodbye as Tohru walked off towards the car waiting. When she was out of sight, the two walked back in, Kyou managing to hit Shigure for elbowing him earlier.

"You're so aggressive Kyou! Maybe you need Yuki-kun in the morning to let off some tension.. Ne, Kyou?" He tapped his chin as if in thought, unaware that Kyou was getting angry. "It certainly explains a lot, you know?"

Shigure paused contemplatively, until realization dawned onto his face. "**That** is why you always challenge Yuki, ne? And--"

Shigure blinked, staring at a now red-faced Kyou. He gave a nervous smile, "Kyou? Eh? _Shitemasu!_" _I know! _He grinned wickedly. "Have I prompted Kyou to think **evil** thoughts of Yuki?"

"_NANI_?" Kyou's fury spilled over, and he started yelling threats and swearing, while chasing a manically laughing Shigure around. "_Bukkoroshite yaru zo_!" _I am going to beat you to a pulp!_

Shigure managed to turn around and playfully stick his tongue out. Getting Kyou riled up, Shigure found, was one of the most entertaining things of the day.

"_Kocha koi_!" _Come here and get your ass kicked!_

Well, entertaining _and_ highly dangerous.

"N-Now.. Kyou--"

A yell tore through their heated argument, and both froze.

_'Yuki…'_

The two immediately abandoned their argument and sprung into action.

Kyou took the lead in running ahead of Shigure, and both sprinted up the stairs. Without wasting time, Kyou easily kicked down the door and stepped in.

His eyes scanned the Yuki's room gaping when he saw that the sheets on Yuki's normally neat bed were strewn around as if he had no regard to the mess it created. "Who's that?" Shigure called, pointing.

Kyou's eyes widened further when he saw a small boy trying to clamber through the window. Immediately, without thinking, he shot forward and dragged him back inside. Kyou didn't waste any time in turning the boy around, ready to demand who he was and where Yuki was—

And froze.

The boy's shocked face immediately struck him with familiarity.

"Yuki…?"

* * *

_**Several minutes earlier…**_

A small face frowned in slumber. It wasn't long until one eye cracked open, followed by the other. As what usually comes with waking up, slight disorientation was what a certain individual felt. Rubbing his eyes, which is revealed to be deep plum, Yuki yawns quietly. It takes awhile, but the sudden unfamiliarity hit him like a ton of bricks. His head whipped around, soft gray bangs whipping along with the motion.

This wasn't his room. This wasn't his bed. He looked down at himself. Well, at least he was still wearing his blue kimono. So where was he? Without meaning to, Yuki cried out. He didn't even have a chance to climb out of bed, when the sounds of hurried footsteps caught Yuki's attention. Assuming the worst, he quickly ran towards the open window, hoping to climb out onto the side. Just then, he felt strong arms encircle his waist, before he was roughly yanked back.

The same pair of hands twirled him around, and he found himself staring into vermilion eyes.

_"Yuki…?"_

Yuki felt the hands go slack, and he backed up. He looked at Kyou oddly, before focusing on Shigure's silent form.

Kyou gulped

Tension.

Silence.

"GURE-SAN! YUKI-KUN! KYON-KICHI! THE WONDERFUL AND CHARMING AYA HAS COME TO GRACE EVERYONE WITH HIS DIVINE PRESENCE!" A familiar sing-song voice called from downstairs.

**Sweatdrop.**

Shigure immediately lost his serious demeanor, cupping his hand to his mouth, and called down to Ayame. "AYA! UP HERE!"

Yuki being momentarily forgotten, Kyou growled low, glaring evilly at Shigure. "Why is that damn snake here!"

"Maa maa.. Kyou.." Shigure gave a grin.

Kyou didn't have a chance to retort when Ayame proudly arrived. His trademark smile in place, he greeted Shigure with the usual innuendo, followed by the customary floral background that irked Kyou to no end. He bristled when Ayame turned to him, and he was ready to beat him to the ground if he so much as came near him.

"Mou, Kyou-kichi, is that a way to greet--"

"O-oniisan.." came a hoarse whisper.

"--g…greet…" Golden colored eyes slowly turned to face a tiny figure. Never had Ayame heard such an endearing tone from his brother, but he **never** expected to see him six-years old again either.

"Ano…"

Kyou looked down at Yuki in the corner of his eye. He knew Yuki and Ayame didn't get along together, even though they were brothers. He assumed that it was always like that, but clearly, it wasn't. Yuki was staring at his brother, eyes wide open, wondering what his older brother was doing here with these people. And didn't someone mention Shigure?

"Yuki.."

The odd voice snapped Shigure and Kyou to attention. Ayame's face was oddly serious, taking in the form of his younger, much younger, brother.

"What joke is this.. Gure-san.."

Kyou remained silent. Shigure's face turned serious. "Is it really him Ayame?" He, too, turned to Yuki, who was still gazing up at his brother in awe.

The tension was palpable. as Ayame took one step forward to his brother.

Everyone held their breath.

"Are you.. Yuki?"

Mild Sweatdrop.

**Cut! Take two! **

Everyone held their breath.

"YUUKKIII!"

Ayame propelled himself forward towards Yuki. He paused just a few inches away, and bent down on one knee. The change from ecstatic to serious was so huge that it boggled even Ayame himself. Yuki hesitantly reached a hand forward, gathering the front of Ayame's clothes. Slowly, and inexplicably, Yuki did something no one had ever thought possible.

Yuki pushed himself into the comfort of Ayame's presence, his little arms not able to encompass him fully in a hug. Ayame could only blink and stare down at the top of Yuki's head in shock. The shock melted, before Ayame hugged back.

Shigure watched on, before calmly stepping out. A brief glance at Kyou sent the message. Once the door to Yuki's room was closed, they silently headed down the stairs.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED UP THERE? WHY IS THAT DAMN RAT A--A KID!"

"Maa maa.. Kyou.. Your too loud. We don't want to interrupt their brotherly moment, do we?"

A vein twitched.

"Sou da.. Does Kyon-kichi want to hug little Yuki too?" Shigure's eyes glittered as he poked Kyou in the side, looking at him knowingly.

"ARGHH!"

With surprising ease, Shigure dodged the charge, pointing a finger in the air. "We should call Hatori. He may know what's happened. In the meantime, we will let Ayame gain Yuki's trust, and ask him if Yuki remembers what's happened."

Kyou growled, picking himself off the wall, eying the large hole he had made on impact. "Fine. I don't care. I'm going to eat breakfast."

"Don't forget to make food for everyone, Kyou! We mustn't forget little Yuki! Perhaps you would like to feed him, ne?" Shigure called with teasing air.

Something whistled through the air.

Shigure instinctively ducked.

A intimidating fork was lodged in the wall, in the exact same place Shigure's head was. "It's appalling! No respect!" he said woefully to himself.

* * *

An hour passed. The only sound that could be heard in Shigure's house was the sounds of Kyou preparing the food. It was broken by the sound of a door opening, followed by the firm thuds on the steps. Kyou remained staring down at his plate, while Shigure looked up.

"Aya? Where's Yuki? Kyou made breakfast."

Ayame smiled cheerfully, before stepping to the side. Yuki was standing demurely, a bit caught off guard at having lost his cover.

Shigure smiled warmly, remembering Yuki back when he was little. "Yuki, why don't you sit down and eat with us. Then we can talk about what has happened."

Yuki nodded, not saying a word, and gracefully sat down. With astonishing manners, he picked food from the platters, and arranged them on his plate. He ate in small bites, staring down at his plate. Shigure and Ayame shared a look. Ayame had never spent much time with Yuki, due to his constant illness. Shigure, however, spent more time with him. He saw Yuki's silent behavior as something normal. He let his eyes lazily travel towards Kyou, who alternated between eating and glancing at Yuki.

Now that he thought about it, he wondered what went through Kyou's head. No doubt they would have to introduce themselves to Yuki again, but how would it taken? They had never gotten along as children, and there was always competition when fighting in martial arts. But now Kyou had the upper hand. Shigure doubted Kyou would engage a fight with Yuki, but how about treating him?

Shigure ate quickly and stood up. "I'll be back for a moment. I need to inform Ha-san about what has occurred."

The other three watched him step out, and there was silence. Yuki gently put down his chopsticks beside his plate and stared straight ahead quietly. Ayame glanced back and forth between them before coming up with an idea. "Ne, Yuki, why don't I tell you who they are? Unless you recognize them?"

"Iie."

"Well, that was Shigure who just left. And this is--"

"Why is Shigure.."

"Yes?"

"Why is Shigure living here? When did he leave the Sohma house?"

"Ano.. We'll save that for another day. Okay, Yuki?"

"..Hai."

"And of course, this is the not-so-bright Kyou!"

"Why you--"

"Now, Kyou, no violence in front of children!"

"I don't give a damn if that damn rat sees me pu--"

Gasp. "Kyou! Not in front of Yuki!" Ayame reached over and covered a bewildered Yuki's ears.

"Don't try hiding behind him, you stupid snake!"

Kyou caught on quickly that Ayame was using Yuki as a shield when he covered his ears. Kyou glared daggers at Ayame, when a small voice spoke up.

"K..Kyou?"

Ayame dropped his hands. "Do you remember Kyou, Yuki?"

Yuki nodded his head, strands off his hair slipped over his forehead. "Why is he so old?"

"N-NANI!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The sound of Shigure laughing made Kyou even angrier. Shigure had his hands on his knees, to stop himself from keeling over with laughter.

"SHUT UP! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!"

"Haha--Gomen ne, Kyou. I just didn't expect--" Shigure kept on laughing, trying half-heartedly to get it under control. Ayame gently placed a hand on top of Yuki's head, "Why don't you try asking Kyou?"

Yuki tilted his head towards Kyou. "What happened to you Kyou?"

Kyou bristled at the inquisitive gaze sent his way, not used to anything other than annoyance and anger directed to him. "What? I'm _16_. I'm not _old_."

Yuki didn't react to Kyou's tone as he usually would if he were older, and calmly took the small bit of information.

Shigure straightened up, "Hatori will be coming in a few minutes. I hear he's bringing Momiji and Hatsuharu. Momiji can play with Yuki, what with all the energy he has. It will give a chance for Yuki to act his age."

Kyou ignored him, while Ayame happily announced that bringing Hatori was the best idea. Yuki let his eyes wander on to the other room's inhabitants. He didn't know what to make of his older brother, who never acted like this around him. He gave a slight cough, but it went unnoticed.

Shigure seemed the same, from what he'd seen of him anyway. Although the difference in hair was really the most obvious thing to Yuki. And Kyou… wasn't he that blunt orange-haired boy that kept glaring at him in New Year's? Yuki mentally shrugged. He didn't know what happened to have made him so tall and old, for that matter. Kyou sneezed.

And didn't his oniisan mention Hatori? Was it time for his check-up? Yuki gave another cough, but he stifled it. The familiar clench of his lungs told Yuki to take it easy today, unless he'd want another attack. Hatori might take him back to the Sohma house if he had an attack here. In.. Shigure's house? Yuki wondered how many things have changed so quickly. Was he kept apart from everyone that long? Did Akito do it purposefully?

Speaking of Akito, since when did he allow Yuki to leave? So many questions, and no answers that were forthcoming.

At that moment, their came a knock. Ayame instantly brightened, and went to open the door. Yuki turned his head from his absentminded stare of Kyou's hair, and heard the sound of a very cheerful voice.

_"--left for a trip. She won't be back all summer."_

_"I see. But is what Hatori told us true? Is it? Is it?"_

_"Yes Momiji, it is."_

_"How old is he?"_

_"He's six, Haru."_

_"Where is he?"_

_"Follow me."_

'_Haru?_' Yuki thought to himself. His mind eye's flashed to the time when Hatsuharu first came to him while he was sitting by the window. It was surprising to hear him yell at him, but he understood that the boy was really hurt. Although… his voice didn't sound at all like he remembered it. Then again, everyone looked different so it shouldn't surprise him.

"Yuki!"

Before Yuki could look up properly, someone pounced on him, and hugged him tightly. His field of vision was currently obstructed by blond hair, and his brain registered one word. Momiji.

"Yuki! You're so _cute!_"

It was a bit disconcerting to see Momiji hugging a small Yuki, who seemed very small compared to Momiji. "Look, Haru! I could never remember how Yuki looked like when he was little, but now I get a chance."

Bunny ears popped on Momiji's head, as he turned to the wide-eyed Yuki. "Let's be friends, okay, Yuki? We can play everyday!"

Momiji pulled Yuki up into standing position. "Want to go outside?"

Yuki wanted sorely to say yes, but he didn't think he'd be able to keep up with Momiji. His hand was itching to cover his mouth so he could cough discreetly, but Momiji was already dragging him towards the door without waiting for an answer.

"Momiji stop."

"Ah, how come Hatori?"

"I'm going to check over Yuki. I'm sure you remember how Yuki was always kept inside. He's not as healthy as you."

Momiji groaned, but let Hatori guide Yuki into the living room so he could sit on the couch. Hatori pulled out his stethoscope, and put Yuki through a series of different breathing methods. He pulled out his bag, and handed Yuki an inhaler. "I've already given Shigure your medication, and I will be coming here to check up on you. Remember not to over exert yourself."

"Hai."

"Haru, accompany Momiji and Yuki outside."

At the mention of Haru, Yuki looked up. The voice was much deeper, and his eyes looked older, but all in all, he looked exactly like the boy who had yelled at him that day. Momiji was saying something in the background, but Yuki didn't acknowledge it because he was trying to put today's incidents together. Firstly, everyone was older. Second… second, he was being picked up by Hatsuharu.

Yuki didn't know where to put his arms having been picked up so abruptly. He settled for bringing them around Haru's neck. He unconsciously leaned his head towards Haru's, hearing his voice, "It will be better if you don't run, Yuki. I'll just carry you there, and then you and Momiji can play."

Yuki nodded. He was busy looking over at Kyou who was looking over at them. Vermilion met amethyst. The first to look away were Kyou's.

"Kyou! Why don't you come!" Momiji called.

"No!"

"Come on!"

"NO!"

"Ah, Kyou!"

"FINE!"

Haru blinked, his back to Kyou. '_That was fairly easy.. Kyou conceded easily.._'.

The odd foursome stepped out; walking down a random dirt road. Haru walked in the middle, Momiji on one side, and Kyou on the other. It was a silent walk, save for Momiji's humming. "Where should we stop?"

Haru's voice broke Kyou's nagging thoughts, and his head snapped up. Restraining himself from snapping 'I don't know!', he muttered that he knew a place where Yuki took care of a garden.

"Oh? How do you know that?"

"I happened upon it, s'all." Kyou said uncomfortably. "So are we going there or not?" He snapped at the end.

"Lead the way."

* * *

Kyou looked up into sky, arms behind his head. He was sitting down against a tree, and it was very calming. Yuki had taken too his future garden quickly, and set about to plucking the sparse weeds with Momiji's help.

Hatsuharu walked over towards Kyou, and stood down beside him. He let his arms rest atop his knees as he watched Yuki work under the stream of sunlight that was partly shaded by trees. "So, do you know how it happened?"

Mainly to keep the White Haru, Kyou answered back evenly. "No. All we heard was a yell, me and Shigure came in, and there he was."

"…Maybe it's a part of the curse."

Kyou stiffened then relaxed. "I doubt it."

"Did you all go somewhere? Maybe some type of magic shop?"

Kyou tossed his head in annoyance. "No. Why would we go there?"

Haru shrugged calmly. "Just a thought."

Kyou glanced at him in the corner of his eye. "We did go to a fortune teller. Yesterday."

* * *

Shigure tipped his cup of tea in to his mouth. "--knew instinctively about our forms."

Hatori's eyes turned to him.

"I don't mean it like that. She didn't know about the Sohma curse. She knew that we could change. It doesn't make any sense, but it is true. I'm sure she treated Kyou and Yuki the same way. I did notice Yuki was silent after that. She may have done something different."

"We must go there, to the carnival, and speak to this woman."

"Now, Hatori, you sound like you're going to kill her."

"Hn."

"I for one am personally glad to finally breach the gap between my cute little brother!" Ayame stood up, starry background appearing behind his righteous pose. "But it would be better to get this problem changed."

"We will go this afternoon. The affects may wear off by then. If it doesn't, we will bring Yuki with us, when we go."

There was silence and meaningful glances all around.

"Akito will not know…yet."

* * *

That afternoon, when the four came back to Shigure's house from Yuki's garden, they were immediately asked whether Yuki changed back. Of course, it was obvious that that hadn't happened, since Haru was carrying a sleeping Yuki with him.

With some reluctance, Haru woke Yuki up so they could eat lunch before they left. Lunch happened to be a very cheerful affair, what with all the company, and it wasn't long till they were all crammed into Hatori's car and they were driving towards the carnival's location.

Luckily, it was still up, and they made quick work with their legs to head straight towards the tent. Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure walked into the tent, telling the other tree to keep watch over Yuki and to guard outside if the woman managed to run out. Luckily for them, the woman was just sitting down at her table, looking at them knowingly. She didn't seem at all surprised to see them.

Her eyes traveled to the boy, and a kind smile graced her face. Yuki returned to the smile.

"Kindly tell us what you have done to him." Hatori's clipped voice spoke.

Yumi grinned.

* * *

"I kind of like him when he's little. Don't you Haru?" Momiji mused out loud. His eyes were busy watching Yuki who was looking at a booth far off. There wasn't any danger of him running into a girl or anything, since the carnival wasn't as crowded as before.

"…"

"What about you Kyou?"

"Why am I supposed to care whether that damn rat is back or not."

Haru turned to him. "So you prefer Yuki when he's little Kyou?"

Kyou sputtered. "No! He's just not-- he doesn't-- I don't know! Just shut up Haru!"

"Why are you getting so worked up Kyou? It was just an innocent question."

"Whatever. I don't care. Just shut up you stupid cow."

Pause.

**BAM!**

"What did you say! At least I'm not a stupid pansy who couldn't fight out of a paper bag!"

"OH YEAH!"

"YEAH!"

"Ano.. Guys.." Momiji laughed sheepishly, before motioning Yuki over. Yuki came quickly, looking over at Kyou and Haru curiously. Yuki turned to Momiji with a silent question.

"Don't worry Yuki, they always do this. Best to let them finish it."

* * *

"WHAT!"

"I'm afraid so. You will just have to wait 10 days."

"I'm afraid I don't see why you can't just fix this problem yourself."

"It is the workings of Tarot. This boy, Yuki, needed to be changed. There is a reason for everything. I'm sure this reason will help you."

"Miss--"

"Yumi."

"Miss Yumi, I assure you that we can pay to have him changed back."

"I do not want your money. That is all I can tell you. Ten days. That is all."

Shigure sighed. It was a lost cause. This woman wouldn't budge. Just as Hatori and Shigure were turning to leave, Ayame stood up and faced the woman. "He changes every day?"

"Yes. To the boy, it will seem like a year has passed. He will start remembering what has happened at each age. If a particular incident happened when he was 7, then he will remember it tomorrow, when ages to seven years old."

"You are positive it will be over in 10 days?"

"Yes."

"Well.. Thank you for telling us, at least. But if he is not changed.." Ayame let the threat hang in the air.

"I understand."

* * *

**A/N: **END! OF THE CHAPTER! YAY!

So, what do you all think? I know it's not the best, but I hope you enjoyed it! Did I mention I really appreciate reviews? -; Don't hold back, and review! Even if it's only one word or just a smiley face! Also, the words in italics (English) are of course the translation for the Japanese that is before it or a couple words before it. I decided to make it like that so no one would have to go all the way down and completely forget what they had been reading.


	2. Day 2

Title: Second Chances

Author: Gia

E-Mail: divinechild18hotmail.com

Rating: PG

**Pairing:** None [..**h**o**n**e**s**t**l**y..]

Time: Present time during the anime. However, taking place during summer vacation.

Summary: What if Ayame had a second chance to make up for Yuki's childhood? Yuki has reverted into a 6yr-old, with no recollection of his older self. How will everyone react? How will Akito react to this?

Disclaimer: I own not a thing.

Author Notes: I'm baaaack!! I've just been all excited about working on **Brotherly Love**, but I haven't forgotten about this! Both **Brotherly Love** and **Second Chances**, is my big comeback against all those romance stories out there, and to the lack of stories that consist of Yuki and Ayame! I'd like to see more of there relationship getting better, and so I'm taking a STAND! Bwhahahaha.. I might even start a trend!….--;; Or not.. Too much to hope for??

****

COME ONE! COME ALL! The "Save the B.B.(Bish(ounen)Brothers) Organization**" is UP and RUNNING! Donations of:**

1.) Glue

2.) Rope

3.) Handcuffs

4.) Ladders

5.) And anything that can keep Yuki and Ayame close together and to breach the GAP between them!

****

Get the idea? As you can see, my two anime stories, "Brotherly Love" and "Second Chances" are the first movement to promote more fanfics that deal with Yuki and Ayame! SO! Wave those "Save the B.B.(Bish(ounen)Brothers) Organization**" , or the abbreviation, "**S.B.B.Org!**" Banners, and we can breach the gap between the two, using objects ranging from duck tape and ladders to "cross" the GAP! Extra thanks to those with creative methods to keep them together! Yuki and Ayame will be closer brothers by the end of both stories, or I'll-- I'll.. LET MANGOES TAKE OVER THE WORLD! BWHAHAHHA!! S.B.B.Org can be found at my HOMEPAGE! Just go to my profile and click on my homepage link!**

::Gia waves a banner that says, "S.B.B.ORG!" proudly::

* * *

****

This chapter is dedicated to: Red

****

Why?: IT'S HER BIRTHDAY!! (August 31) HAPPY BIRTHDAY RED-CHAN!

* * *

Ayame shut the door behind himself and headed downstairs. Kyou and Haru were sitting at the table watching TV, while Momiji was asleep on the couch. Shigure was nowhere to be seen, and Hatori was sitting outside. Walking silently outside, Ayame took a seat beside Hatori. "He's asleep." It wasn't a question on Hatori's part. 

"Yes. It wasn't that difficult, Yuki was asleep before his head hit the pillow." Ayame smiled fondly.

Hatori glanced at him with the corner of his eye, "He will be seven tomorrow Ayame. This process will fast, over before we know it. Will you be able to handle it when he's changed back?"

Ayame smile never faltered. "Yuki will be different, won't he? Yes, he'll remember his true memories, but the new ones… they will help ease his childhood pain." It shocked Hatori a bit, to hear Ayame speaking so seriously. When it came to Yuki, however, Ayame's responses are always spontaneous, so he shouldn't be surprised.

"Ha-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Tell me.. about Yuki."

**

* * *

**

The Next Day

Sound of a thud. The smallest sound of a hissed swear word.

"Ssh! You might wake him!"

"Wake him!" a voice hissed back. "You're the one who _dragged_ me here!"

"…I just want to see him."

Kyou glanced at him oddly, before facing the small bump under the blankets. At 5 in the morning, he had found himself being rudely awakened by Hatsuharu. Before he could take a swing at him, Haru had maneuvered him into Yuki's room, where they were currently hiding in. They were crouched at the foot of the bed, and--waiting.

"That's stupid! You could've seen him at breakfast."

"…"

Before Kyou could make another retort, Yuki suddenly moved up into sitting position. His eyes were half drooping, and he showed no sign of acknowledging the tops of white and orange hair sticking out in plain view. One hand lazily rubbing his eyes, Yuki scooted over to the side, and stood on the floor. He slowly walked around the bed, and stopped at the foot of the bed. Haru froze, and looked up into a dreamy violet gaze.

"Yuki?" he inquired softly.

Silence.

BAM! KICK! PUNCH!

"DAMN IT! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Kyou cried, clutching his head and stomach. Haru was in a similar state, but shockingly, he hadn't reverted into Black Haru. Kyou vaguely noted that it had to be because it was Yuki.

The same violet gaze blinked out of its drowsy state, and a very surprised seven year old Yuki stared down at his cousins.

"H-Haru? K-Kyou?"

**

* * *

**

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Shigure pointed to the large bruises on both Haru's and Kyou's faces.

"SHUT UP YOU DAMN DOG! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"Why did you go into Yuki's room in the first place?" Hatori asked calmly.

"ASK THAT STUPID COW! HE'S THE ONE WHO MADE ME GO!"

"STUPID COW?! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU DAMN CAT! YOU CAN GO TO HELL!"

"SHUT UP!"

Yuki blinked, and watched as Kyou and Hatsuharu engaged into a fight. Wincing slightly at each swear word Kyou and Haru cried out, Yuki couldn't help but watch in amazement as they performed seemingly difficult kicks and jumps. A hand suddenly came down on Yuki's shoulder, and Yuki looked up into his brother's eyes.

"Ne, Yuki, are you hungry?"

"..Hai."

Ayame gently took Yuki's hand, and lead him inside the kitchen where Momiji was sitting too, away from his cousins' loud bickering. Unbeknownst to him, Yuki's mind's eye went to incident. An incident that had changed Yuki's perspective of his brother a long time ago.

'Why is my oniisan… different? Will it… be like this?'

With his free hand, Yuki covered his mouth and coughed. Ayame glanced down at Yuki, and found his younger brother's gaze already facing him. It chilled Ayame to the bone to not be able to read that gaze, and it was very cold when he realized he knew so little of his brother. Squeezing Yuki's hand gently, he gave a cheerful smile.

"Sou da! Let your wonderful brother prepare breakfast!"

Yuki blinked and a smile cracked its way onto his face. _'Hai… wonderful brother.'_

_**

* * *

**_

Shigure looked to the left and to the right. Kyou felt his eye twitch unnaturally, and he resisted the urge to hit Shigure. Haru stared impassively ahead. The three were sitting down on the couch, Shigure sitting in between them. It was obvious that Shigure was bursting to say something. Kyou was anticipating it, and looked forward to hitting Shigure through the roof.

Shigure opened his mouth--

And shut it before Kyou could curl his fist. His grin grew wider. "So, Kyou, why were you in Yuki's bedroom, hmm?"

Kyou's eye twitched again. "None. Of. Your. Damn. Business."

Shigure continued unfazed. "Aa.. Kyon-kichi isn't denying that he was inside. Was Kyou--" He put his hand over his mouth in a mock gasp, "watching our dear sweet Yuki sleeping?"

Haru's eyes glinted strangely. Kyou's eye twitched again, and again. "Sh--"

BAM!

"ITAI!! DAMNIT HARU, WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

Black Haru looked up, his expression angry. "Oh, did that punch hurt? When did you become such a pansy Kyou?"

Kyou leaped up, hands drawn. "I don't know what the hell brought this on, but I'm going to kick. Your. Ass."

Shigure hid a grin behind his hand. He knew he shouldn't set Kyou and Haru off, but it was just so _easy_. And when it came to Yuki… well.. Who could pass up such an easy chance? However, as entertaining as this was, he didn't want his house to be demolished--again, "Kyou, Haru, why don't you take this outside? I don't want you to destroy my house."

Kyou ignored him, as did Haru. It seemed the latter sentence only prompted them to become more destructive. Shigure tried another tactic. "You'll be able to fight better _outside_." he pointed out. He waited, and inwardly grieved when Kyou made a large hole in the wall. Shigure tapped his chin thoughtfully, barely registering the sounds of their yelling and the chair flying overhead. Just then, Momiji, Ayame and Yuki walked in. Shigure glanced at Yuki momentarily, and came up with an idea. Shigure called out coyly, "This will be a bad influence on Yuki. Besides, what if you accidentally hit him, hmm?"

Yuki turned his head to face Shigure, hair whipping around. Tilting his head to the side, he only received a wink from Shigure. Yuki's eyes trailed to both Hatsuharu and Kyou, and blinked when they both froze. Grumbling, Kyou dropped his hands walked to the chair and dropped down onto it heavily. Haru made no move to call him back, as he had reverted to White Haru. Hatori, who had remained silent through the whole ordeal, stared at Shigure curiously. Not many people knew Shigure, thinking him to just be a flaky perverted novelist. Which he was-- but he happened to be cunning to boot. Not a the best combination, in Hatori's opinion, but it proved to be amusing. Not that he'd let Shigure know that. He'd never live it down.

Yuki moved away from his brother and sat down beside Hatori. Hatori stiffened slightly, but relaxed. He remembered only too well the incident when he had to erase those children's memories, and wondered if Yuki was thinking about it too. Yuki had always been very distant towards Hatori after that but would it be different now? Hatori didn't want to think about it.

Momiji turned to everyone. "Oh, why don't we go out today? It's a nice day, and we could go to the hot springs!"

"We've already been there." Kyou muttered, resting his head on top of his hand. He stared blankly ahead, but not facing Yuki.

"I know, but Haru hasn't! And Yuki! Not to mention Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori! Okami-san had wanted to see them when we first met, and this a good chance!"

Shigure smiled, "Sounds like a plan, let's go right now."

Hatori turned to face him, "Are you running away from that editor again? You're terrible."

Shigure shrugged modestly. "Hatori, you're too kind."

"More importantly, Okami-san doesn't know about Yuki's predicament. I will have to speak to her first, and tell her ahead of time not to pass on the news to Akito."

Everyone in the room grew silent, especially Yuki. They hadn't yet explained why Akito was letting him stay here, and it didn't take long for Yuki to realize that Akito didn't know. He hoped to keep it that way. He liked staying here, staying with his brother, even with his cousins. He didn't want to leave, and he most certainly didn't want to go back to Akito.

Shigure nodded. "Right, you can call her. Then we can go. It shouldn't be a problem.

"Then it's settled! We're going to the hot springs!" Momiji cried out, breaking the tension.

**

* * *

**

"Ah, Yuki! How adorable you are!" Okami smiled down at Yuki, who stared up at her haltingly. Hatori had explained what was going on, and she understood the meaning behind his cautious words. She didn't plan on letting Akito know, only on showing them a good time.

"Come in, I've prepared rooms for you."

She led them inside, and showing them the same room they had used before. She had one more room for the adults, and said if they needed her they could just ask. Hatori did most of the talking to make sure Okami didn't go into apologizing mode, what with Shigure and Ayame's antics. "Thank you, Okami-san. We'll be fine." She nodded and left them.

Everyone went to their respective rooms, donning towels. Soon, Momiji grasped Yuki's hand, "Come on Yuki! Let's go swim!"

Without further words, Momiji pulled Yuki towards the hot spring, all of them already changed. The trio, that is, Ayame, Shigure, and Hatori weren't planning on going into the hot spring just yet, so it was just the four of them. Momiji jumped inside, but Yuki took care, and carefully slipped in slowly. Momiji was already swimming around, but Yuki didn't know how to swim very well. Hatsuharu came over, pulling his hand out of the water, and holding it out to Yuki.

"I've got you." Haru spoke.

Yuki looked at him silently, before grasping his hand. Yuki found he could keep himself afloat without assistance, but it was a lot safer sticking close to Haru. Momiji came over to them, playfully splashing Kyou. It wasn't the best thing since Kyou automatically smacked him, causing Momiji to cry out. He dropped the act though, when he decided to jump inside so he could splash Kyou more. Climbing out of Kyou's reach, Momiji jumped--

SPLASH!

The wave of water came, momentarily covering everyone. Kyou growled, and was ready to grab Momiji, when he noticed frantic splashing and Haru calling out Yuki's name. Without thinking, Kyou held his breath and plunged himself into the water. Yuki must've been caught off guard by the splash, and went under. How, was anyone's guess, but it wasn't important at the moment. Kyou reached for him, and pulled him up. Yuki's head broke the surface, his face flushed, and coughing.

Momiji had a very apologetic face, and he apologized profusely. Kyou just helped the coughing and sputtering Yuki out of the spring, and let him sit on the edge. He hastily laid his hand on Yuki's back, "Yuki? Are you okay now?"

Yuki nodded, water dripping from his hair. He took a deep breath, followed by another. Kyou felt worried, and he had half a mind to get Hatori, but Yuki seemed to calm down. Apart from his irregular breathing, there was nothing serious. Then-- time seemed to slow down. He could hear Yuki's breathing in his ears, his heartbeat, it drowned out everything else. Momiji's frantic apologizing. The gentle splash of water. Everything.

****

Beat.

"The Death."

Beat.Beat.

"--casting aside former convictions or beliefs…"

Beat. Beat. Beat--

"Give not the mouse your apathy, but your empathy."

He pulled his hand back as if it was burnt. Kyou's eyes widened, staring at the side of Yuki's face, which was unaware of Kyou's frantic stare. _'Where did that… come from?'_ Kyou thought. It was as if someone had returned the sound, and he longer heard the steady beat of Yuki's heart. Momiji came over and went straight to Yuki. He hugged him fiercely, speaking over and over that he hadn't meant it. Yuki lifted his head, and he lightly rested his head on Momiji's shoulder. He brought his small arms around Momiji smiling softly. "Arigatou." he whispered.

This stilled Momiji's apologies, and they both just sat there hugging each other. Both Haru and Kyou stared at them in silence. They both knew Yuki didn't have much interaction, if any, with the other Sohmas'. In a way, Yuki being a child at this moment, allowed him to have the proper attention from his cousins. His brother. His family. More importantly, it was helping the Sohmas' themselves. Back then, they had no chance to make any changes or act like this. It wasn't outwardly spoken that they weren't to act so--free. Akito made it clear, though, of what he wanted, and no one would go against that.

It was surreal, this fake time. It seemed almost carefree. No Akito looming over them, no nasty fights and arguments… well, he and Haru still fought but it never went more than that. It was just a petty thing, that both needed to get out of their systems. Kyou averted his eyes from the scene, stopping his philosophical tirade. "Let's go. It should be time to eat lunch."

Haru's eyes slipped towards him, and they both reached a level of understanding at the second--

"Hurry up you stupid cow. I'm hungry."

"THAT'S ALL YOU THINK ABOUT! EAT EAT EAT! NO WONDER YOU SUCK AT FIGHTING! YOU'RE GETTING FAT!"

"SAY THAT AGAIN YOU DAMN COW!"

--well, that level of understanding _was_ for only a second.

**

* * *

**

Soft creaking in the wood was the only sign of the person moving. He approached a nearby servant, and his toneless measured voice called out.

"Where is Hatori?"

The servant spun around quickly, the voice chilling him to the bones. The servant, Asaka Katsunoshin, kept his eyes trained to the ground, as they were all instructed when addressing the Head of Sohma House. "He has taken a leave of absence to Shigure-san's home."

Akito's lips curved into a mock smile. "Hatori has been spending quite some time away. I wonder… if it deals with something important. Something he is not telling me. Tell me," he tilted his head slowly, his measured voice never losing its silky tone, "when Hatori has come back. I have so much to tell him."

"Hai." Asaka bowed low.

Akito turned, and walked away. Perhaps he'd lie outside, and call for his pet.

'I do not like secrets that are kept…'

**

* * *

**

Yuki leaned back into his chair, a content smile on his face. Okami had served a humongous lunch, and Yuki had enjoyed watching how the Sohmas' interacted during lunch. He couldn't help but smile as Kyou every now and then yelled at--everyone. Excluding him of course. It was obvious Kyou was pretending Yuki didn't exist, but it wasn't really ignoring him. He helped him wordlessly when Yuki asked for someone to pass the bowl of rice, but he didn't speak to him.

Not that it was bothering Yuki, but all he could remember of Kyou was that he always yelled at him. He tended to reply with sarcastic remarks as well, but that was then. Kyou was obviously mature now--

"Ah, close your damn mouth when you chew, Haru."

"Why don't you make me you stupid cat?"

Or not. Yuki surprised everyone when he accidentally let slip a small laugh. The sounds of chatter immediately stilled, and Yuki flushed uncomfortably when everyone, including Kyou, was staring at him incredulously. _Was it that surprising that he laughed?_, Yuki wondered. He knew he didn't laugh at all in front of his parents, but still, he was entitled to laughing, wasn't he?

Shigure tilted his head on his hand. "Ah, Hatori, Ayame. Isn't it just lovely to hear children's laughter, compared to Kyon-kichi's loud yelling?" Shigure sighed dramatically.

A pulsing, angry vein appeared in Kyou's temple.

Ayame grinned. "Hai, Gure-san. I always get headaches when I hear Kyon-kichi whining over and over about my dear little brother, Yuki."

Yuki's head snapped up, staring at his brother curiously. "Me? What do you mean, oniisan?"

Another vein appeared, and fire flashed behind Kyou's eyes.

Ayame smiled gently, laying his hand atop Yuki's head, "What that means Yuki, is that Kyou lov--" Poor Ayame was cut off when Kyou decided that his fist needed to get acquainted with Ayame's head.

Ayame got up quickly, which was surprising since that punch had to have hurt. A bandage was conveniently placed over his bruise, and spoke in a sing-song voice, "Kyoon-kichi! You just set a bad example for Yuki, and now he's," Ayame put his hand over his eyes in mock horror, "scarred for life! How could you Kyou? To our dear, sweet, little Yuki? You should be ashamed!"

Kyou sputtered angrily, and finding that he had no comeback, he stood and walked away with astounding calm -- after he sent Ayame through the roof.

Sweatdrop.

"Serves him right." Kyou spoke smugly. His victory, however, was short-lived. What goes up, must come down after all.

BAM!

"Itai.." Kyou moaned painfully. Ayame gave a hundred-watt smile, and thanked Kyou for cushioning his fall. Yuki surprised everyone else when he laughed again.

Life was good, you could say.

**

* * *

**

"Good-bye Okami-san! Thank you for having us!"

The Sohma boys' waved good-bye to Okami-san from the charter bus. The drive was uncommonly quiet to begin with, but it was like a companionable silence. If you were to look around, you would see the famed "Mabudachi Trio" sitting in corner discussing something of importance. Momiji was currently engaged in teaching Yuki a song he had made up, although it was obvious that Yuki had no plans whatsoever in singing it aloud. Kyou and Haru sat across from each other, there eyes were narrowed, fists clenched--

Having a staring contest.

All this is nice and well, but we must now go to what exactly the Mabudachi Trio is talking about. Their topic dealt with Yuki, but not wholly. It was Ayame's idea, closely supported by Shigure. The two were intent on getting Hatori to agree to.. What?

Ayame opened his mouth in a righteous whisper, "Come on, Ha-san, it will be fun. And all thoughts aside, don't you think it is my duty, and yours as well, to do the brotherly duty of interrogating--"

"Iie."

"But Hatori," Shigure piped up, "If things will continue as they are now, Yuki will be confused as to who will steal his--"

Hatori gave them both pointed looks. "You two are terrible."

Their expressions dropped instantly, until an idea suddenly popped in both of their minds.

"Hatoori!" Ayame and Shigure gleefully sang.

Hatori sighed tiredly. "Yes?"

"You may have immense blackmail on us," Shigure stated coyly, "but me and Ayame have some on you as well."

This definitely got Hatori's attention slightly. "Oh? And what would that be?"

Ayame's smile widened, and he leaned in to whisper something in Hatori's ear. It took all Shigure had not to cackle evilly. He calmly noted out loud, "You never did take alcohol very easily Hatori."

Hatori's eyes widened considerably, an uncharacteristic blush on his cheeks. "That never happened Ayame."

Ayame grinned coyly, flashing a wink at Shigure. "Oh but Hatori," Ayame dropped his voice to a low whisper. "It did." His husky voice seemed genuine, and Hatori didn't remember _that_ incident, which could be explainable if it were from the effects of alcohol…

Hatori conceded grudgingly. "Fine."

"YATA!"

"_After_ you give me the pictures."

"Mou.."

**

* * *

**

Hatori trained his expression to be blank before respectively stepping inside Akito's room. As usual, Akito's window was open, and the person in question was looking outside. Akito's pet was nowhere to be seen, which came as a small surprise to Hatori. He'd never visited Akito without seeing that bird around him.

"Punctual as always, Hatori." Akito's light tone was sprinkled with amusement.

"…"

"I've noticed, Hatori," Akito turned around to face Hatori. His eyes glinted dangerously, "your constant absence from the Sohma house. Why is that?"

Hatori inwardly blanched, and wondered where Akito was going with this. Akito noted this and continued without letting Hatori answer. "It's no matter really." He turned back around to look out the window. Hatori took this as a sign to leave, so he immediately made for the door.

"Hatori."

He paused in his stride.

"I don't like secrets being kept. Do care to keep that in mind."

Hatori left without a word.

**

* * *

**

Yuki hummed a nonsense song under his breath while he swung his legs back and forth in the huge chair. His oniisan had gently told him to wait outside Hatori's office while he went to talk to his Ha-san. Momiji had to go to one to his father, because he needed to see Momiji for some reason or other. This wasn't the best thing to do, since Yuki never really enjoyed coming here. Then again, he didn't enjoy it because he was always alone, but he wasn't now.

Yuki let a smile spread over his face as he looked up. Hatsuharu and Kyou were sitting opposite of him, in a couch. Haru was calmly sitting in the middle, but Kyou had made show of sitting the farthest he could from Haru. Haru felt Yuki's gaze and looked up to smile back at him. Yuki tilted his head in his smile before turning to Kyou. It was obvious that Kyou was aware of it, since he hands had suddenly clenched and his facial expression was very tight.

Yuki hummed just a tiny bit louder to presumably get Kyou's attention but it seemed in vain. Hatsuharu must have thought it his duty to help Yuki get his attention, because he spoke out in his polite tone.

"Kyou. Yuki is trying to get your attention."

Silence.

Humming gets louder.

"Kyou. Look up. Yuki wants your attention." Haru reiterated his tone slightly harder.

The humming almost reached shrieking, but not quite. Yuki had a very concentrated look on his face to not lose breath in his frenzied humming.

"Kyou--"

"ALL RIGHT ALREADY! I'M LOOKING UP!" Kyou yelled loudly. He defiantly met Yuki's tilted gaze, his smile never leaving, but his humming ceased. Kyou almost choked on his own spit. He didn't know how to act to a Yuki that was nice to him.

At that instant, Ayame opened the door to Hatori's office. He put his hand on Yuki's shoulder. "Yuki…"

In Yuki's mind, he thought he had come here to for a check-up. His face immediately froze. It seemed as if the temperature in the room literally fell. Yuki's eyes flashed, and Ayame could almost swear he heard thunder outside.

"Er… no, Yuki. You're not having a check-up right now."

Just as strangely, the room temperature went back to normal. Ayame sweatdropped and coughed awkwardly before regaining back his energetic behavior. "Your oniisan and his friends want to have a little talk with Kyou and Haru."

Yuki let his eyes slide back to both Haru's and Kyou's surprised expressions before slipping back to his older brother. He nodded reluctantly, and resumed his activity of swinging his legs back and forth.

**

* * *

**

The windows inside of Hatori's office were covered completely, and only a small lamp light on his desk was on. Shigure was already standing beside Hatori, as Ayame led them inside. There were two chairs that Shigure indicated for them to sit on, which they did. Ayame went to Shigure's side, and the three adults stared back at the two boys with solemn gazes.

"What's going on here?" Kyou demanded.

He was instantly quieted when Shigure shot him a look that told him to stay silent. The entire atmosphere was certainly serious, meaning the object of this visit wasn't any joke.

"You are here today," Hatori began, "to discuss someone of great importance."

Yuki.. Kyou thought instantly.

The lamplight was immediately turned onto them, the intensity of it making them squint. Ayame stepped forward. "You are each going to be interrogated by us to see.."

Pause.

"if you are worthy of Yuki!"

"NANI!?" cried two voices in unison.

An unseen wind blew from somewhere, making Ayame's hair move. "As little Yuki's older brother, it is my duty to question you." He rubbed his hands together, staring at them with a surprisingly evil smirk.

"Now, it won't be painful."

An obvious contradiction, you see, because Hatori was plainly seen testing a particularly large syringe. Shigure mysteriously disappeared but he brought out something that resembled a large black box.

"First, we're going to give you a lie test."

**

* * *

**

Yuki blinked and turned his head to the door of Hatori's office. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn he heard Kyou scream. He slid off the chair and was getting ready to eavesdrop when a sudden chirping caught his attention. Dark lavender hair whipping around, Yuki saw a small bird, a canary perhaps, flying outside a large window.

A smile curving on his face, Yuki immediately approached the window. The small bird perched on the outside window sill and chirped. Squinting, Yuki felt a sudden familiarity when he looked at the bird. To which Sohma did this bird belong to? Yuki wondered.

"My name's Yuki." he whispered, as if sharing a secret to the bird. The bird chirped once more, before flying away. Sighing softly, Yuki watched it fly away.

It would be too late before Yuki realized that the bird _did_ belong to a Sohma.

Akito.

**

* * *

**

Kyou's eye twitched. A habit that Kyou had recently developed, though how, would remain a mystery. He noted that Haru didn't seem at all bothered with the questions Shigure shot at him. In fact, he seemed ready to answer them.

Is he taking this seriously?! Kyou thought incredulously.

"--at night?"

Kyou snapped his head back, and looked up at Ayame's expectant face. "..er.."

"Not paying attention Kyou? That's not good." Ayame marked something on his clipboard. Kyou resisted the urge of breaking in Ayame's face by a thread. His eye was currently twitching up a storm.

"I said," Ayame continued, "Do you have erotic dreams of Yuki at night?"

"NANI!?!"

"Check! Ohohoho..saa, do you--"

"M-matte! I didn't say yes!"

"Ah, but, you didn't say no!" Ayame laughed loudly, hand partially covering his mouth.

"That's not true!"

Ayame paused.

"Honto ni? Maa, Kyou, why won't you be more like Haru? He's answering all the questions straightforwardly. Watch. Oi! Haru!"

Haru paused in whatever answer he was saying and faced Ayame. "Do you think Yuki is cute?"

"..hai."

"See?" Ayame gave a bright smile to Kyou.

Kyou immediately felt a flicker of anger coursing through him at Haru's admittance. "Fine damnit! I'll answer like him already!!" Kyou yelled.

"Good. Now, read this sign out loud." Ayame held up a sign in Japanese.

"Ecchi..shite..hoshi..desu…NANI!?!" _I would like to f you.. WHAT?!!?_

"Kyoou!" Ayame batted his hand at him. "You can't cheat on Yuki!" The sudden implication hit him, and he gasped. "You _cheated_ on him! This isn't looking good Kyou.." Ayame wrote another thing on his clipboard.

Of course, if you would have taken a look on Ayame's clipboard, you would have just scene doodles on the sheet of paper. Although, there _was_ a cute little doodle of a kitty, but that obviously had nothing to do with the interrogation. As such.. Ayame just wanted to torture poor Kyou.

**

* * *

**

Three hours and twenty-four minutes later, Hatsuharu and Kyou finally came out. Yuki had taken a nap during this period, and was currently asleep in his chair. Smiling softly, Ayame bent down and picked Yuki up. It was almost night time, signifying the end of seven-year old Yuki's day. The entire group headed to the car, ready to go to bed in Shigure's house.

Yuki was sitting beside his brother, or rather, sleeping beside him. His head was leaning against Ayame's shoulder, and neither brothers seemed at all troubled in this position. It seemed the two were getting closer, something for which all the Sohmas' would like to see.

**

* * *

**

Akito whistled softly, and his pet bird immediately came at his call. It alighted on his finger, staring innocently up at Akito's face.

"You will always come at my call, won't you?" Akito wasn't expecting a reply, but the bird chirped back at him.

"I wonder.. How Shigure is doing these days. And Kyou and Yuki…"

The small bird broke out into the sweetest song, seemingly telling Akito its day's events.

Akito let a smile linger on his face as he urged the bird to fly into the air.

I think it may be time to pay Shigure a visit..

**

* * *

**

A/N: O.O… ::shudders:: I didn't want to end this chapter with a freaky end, but it just turned out that way. Hope you like it so far!!!

WAIT! DON'T FORGET ABOUT THOSE DONATIONS! IF YOU'VE READ THE TOP AUTHOR NOTES, THEN YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. IF YOU DON'T, THEN SCROLL UP AND READ IT! I'M SERIOUS! Come on, you only need to type in a few words, no brain power needed.

Also, just a few things I need to say on the chapter.

****

I have this idea. You see, all the twelve Sohmas' (yes, I'm including Kyou), all represent the animals from the zodiac. And many rumors say that Akito may represent the God who invited the animals. So, being a God, he must have some type of odd ability like the other Sohmas', yes? So, after much thinking, I made out this entire explanation. That bird the Akito usually has with him, (Canary?), what if Akito used this bird to find out about things that went on. I know, it doesn't make sense, but it works for my story.

If you think about it, all they know, is that the head of the family would be the one that bears the curse. But why? It doesn't really connect with the whole God business, but hey, it's my story, and in my world, it makes complete sense. So, for those who are wondering how Akito could have understood what the bird is telling him, (Yes, the bird was "telling" him what went on. Think of it likely him being telepathic.. Sheesh.. You know what I mean.. anyway.. It's not going to be a really big thing in this story. I won't have Akito talking to animals in every chapter, and heck, this'll probably be the only chapter Akito does talk to the canary). So yeah.. That's about it..

**__**

IF YOU WANT UPDATES, LEAVE YOUR EMAIL AND A MESSAGE SAYING SO!


	3. Day 3

Title: Second Chances

Author: Gia

E-Mail: divinechild18hotmail.com

Rating: PG

Pairing: None [..**h**o**n**e**s**t**l**y..]

Time: Present time during the anime. However, taking place during summer vacation.

Summary: What if Ayame had a second chance to make up for Yuki's childhood? Yuki has reverted into a 6yr-old, with no recollection of his older self. How will everyone react? How will Akito react to this?

Disclaimer: I own not a thing.

Author Notes: TT.. Don't kill me.. I know I haven't updated in a LONG time, but I just ran out of inspiration.. But I'm here and the chapter's out.. And I promise to work extra hard!

But how do you like the story so far? Getting dramatic, isn't it? Well, I say this would center around the brotherly bond between Ayame and Yuki, didn't I? There are definitely going to be bumps along the way! And Yuki's only eight! Hah.. Much more too come, definitely much more. Also, I hope that you like my interpretations of the whole sibling things and what not. I happen to be an **only **child so I hope it's up to everyone's standards. XD So, I hope you enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think in a review!

And as you can obviously see, I'm making each day for **ONE** chapter. It makes the chapters considerably long, but that isn't something to complain about, is it? XD

* * *

Kyou grumbled to himself, rolling to each side of his bed, trying to get a comfortable position. It was hard to go back to sleep all of a sudden, he didn't even know why he awoke so quickly. _'Why can't I go back to sleep?'_ he wondered angrily. Giving up the effort, Kyou sat up in his bed, swinging his legs over to stand up. Maybe he'd make a drink for himself, and go back to bed. Stretching languidly, he walked outside his room and headed downstairs. He made a beeline for the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of milk. Although the cold drink was soothing, it didn't make him feel anymore sleepy. 

Shrugging to himself, he turned around and nearly dropped his glass milk when he met the eyes of Yuki. As an eight year old, there was a definite change of growth. He didn't seem as petite as he had been earlier. Currently, Yuki was sitting at the table, staring at Kyou listlessly. He had his head propped up by hand, and he didn't seem to show any intention to remove his gaze from Kyou.

"Err.." Kyou didn't know what to say. He remembered that when he and Yuki began getting older, their fights began to escalate. He'd already been learning martial arts, and Yuki would've started soon enough.

"Baka..neko..?"

Kyou's eye twitched. It seemed Yuki at eight would be very different from the previous ones. Then again, it could be just habit for Yuki. He didn't remember a time where they ever called each other by their given name, civilly anyway. He'd let it slip for now, Yuki _was_ only eight after all.

"Yeah, what are you doing up early?" he asked, walking closer until he was directly in front of him.

Yuki finally averted his eyes and made a noncommittal noise. Without a word, he slid off his chair and headed out of the kitchen. His behavior made Kyou's blood boil. The way Yuki brushed him off, or the way he seemed to easily forget his presence-- all of that just… stung. Albeit, coming from an eight year old, it shouldn't feel too bad, but.. Nothing was the same when it came to Yuki.

I'm the older one here, it should be me who's in charge. Not Yuki. He followed Yuki and found him sitting on the couch, just staring off into space. This definitely didn't seem in character, and although Kyou hadn't seen Yuki enough at the Sohma household, he'd never seen Yuki act like this when he was around. _He was always active in our fights.._ Making up his mind, he sat beside Yuki. He allowed himself a small grin when it startled Yuki out of his daze.

Yuki glanced at him, a frown marring his features before he turned his head away. Kyou suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu with Yuki's actions. It reminded him of.. Himself. When Kazuma had been trying to get him to talk, he'd been like this towards him. Ignoring him, rationalizing in his head that Kazuma was doing it out of obligation, rather than anything else even remotely of his own free will. _Damn.. I'm not good at these things.. I can't talk to kids! I can't talk to this.. Rat.. I'm not supposed to!_

Kyou let his eyes linger lazily around the house, feeling extremely stupid, and finally rested his gaze on Yuki. The same eyes grew huge when he realized that Yuki had fallen asleep on his arm, and by the looks of it, wasn't about to move. His arm twitched. _Argh.. I'm not a pillow! He snubbed me one moment and now he's all comfortable the next…worse than Kagura.._

Frowning, Kyou tensed the arm Yuki was using as a pillow and decided that he didn't have to make things easier for Yuki. With a quick movement, Kyou pulled his arm and moved to stand up. He tried, really, but the result was his arm feeling like it was ripped out of its socket. Kyou sputtered for a moment and hesitated before moving back to the couch. It was amazing that Yuki could have such a death grip, especially for one of his stature. And asleep no less! Fine, he'd just sit here. He didn't feel like getting up anyway. Just rest his eyes for a moment… that's all… only for a moment…

**

* * *

**

Shigure grinned. After a waking up, feeling perfectly rested, he had freshened up in the bathroom. And what, to his immense surprise, did he find in the living room? '_A cat and a mouse..'_ Shigure mused. Lucky for him, he remembered to bring a camera down from upstairs. No need to waste such a perfect moment, right? Giggling behind his hand, he tiptoed towards the couch where Kyou and Yuki had fallen asleep. Raising the camera, Shigure's grin grew wider--

"SHIGUURE! Where are you?" Ayame's cheerful voice rang throughout the house. Ayame's tone, however, quickly changed. "I feel absolutely _wonderful_ after last night!" There was loud laughter following that exclamation and Shigure couldn't help but smile as well.

Forgetting, for the moment, the two sleeping boys, Shigure called out in response. "Mou! Aya! I was trying to capture a cute moment between Kyou and Yuki!"

"What! Kyon-kichi and my dear little brother!? Dear me, have I interrupted anything? I'm coming down!"

"No, no, it's alright." Shigure called back cheerfully, waving his hand consolingly even though Ayame wasn't there to see it. He didn't have to wait long before Ayame came down. His hair was pulled back away from his gleeful face, winking at Shigure when he stepped off the last step.

"Where are they Shigure?" Ayame's attempt at whispering only made him sound louder. It was loud enough to get Kyou's attention, although as to the reason why it didn't earlier is a mystery that will remain to be one. Kyou's face scrunched up first, before slowly opening. Yuki mirrored the same action, unintentionally of course, and sat up as well.

Silence.

Gasp. "Kyon-kiichi! Have you no shame? Hm?" Ayame and Shigure all but sang. It provoked the patent reaction from Kyou, his face turning red with anger as he stood up slowly to deal out punishment.

The twin grins on several of the Mabudachi Trio served to irritate Kyou more, causing him to chase after them with a deadly glint in his eyes. For the moment, the eight-year-old Yuki was forgotten, and this fact didn't seem to phase said boy. Yawning widely, Yuki stood up from the couch, stretching slowly before looking around. It was a bit amusing to see Kyou chasing two grown men around the house but it didn't explain to him why they all seemed different.

'Oniichan..?'

Yuki vaguely remembered Ayame shunning him the few times he tried approaching him. And here he was, apparently in a Sohma's house, watching a grown Kyou chasing an even older Shigure and Ayame. And even with these antics, Ayame didn't seem to notice him either. Frowning with confusion, Yuki decided to question it later. He actually had an appetite and was looking forward to breakfast. But… how was he going to eat? He'd never had a chance to try, and he doubted any of the adults would let him near the stove.

Sighing quietly, Yuki closed his eyes again and dropped back against the sofa. Unfortunately, before he had a chance to get comfortable, the phone rang. His eyes popped open immediately and he wondered if the others had heard it. A particularly loud crash followed by cheerful yelling answered Yuki's silent question. Deciding he should answer out of courtesy, Yuki stood up and searched for the sound of the ring. Upon finding the phone, he let his hand hover above it. There was almost a sense of… foreboding. Pushing the feeling out, Yuki picked up the phone.

"…" Yuki opened his mouth, but nothing seemed to come out.

"Hello? Shigure-san? Kyou-kun?"

Yuki's eyes widened considerably, the distinct female voice seemed concerned. _'Who is this?'_

"..eto--" Yuki dropped the phone. His hands flew to his mouth. _'Baka! Now she knows there's someone on the phone!'_

"Ano? Yuki-kun? Are you there?"

'She knew his name too! Was she a witch? Did she know more about him?' He bent down to pick up the phone and opened his mouth to tell her she had the wrong number but was stopped by saying anything else when Shigure walked in, followed by a still angry Kyou who was being accompanied by Ayame.

"Eh? Yuki? Who are you talking to?" Shigure asked curiously.

Putting the phone down and covering it with one hand, Yuki only shook his head. Raising an eyebrow, Shigure came forward and picked up the phone from Yuki's hand. "Hello? This is Shigure Sohma speaking."

Yuki tilted his head to listen to what Shigure spoke.

"Oh! Tohru-kun! Sorry about that, I was.. A bit preoccupied… Yes, we're fine. How's your vacation?… Good, good!… Kyou's fine… Yuki? Oh.."

Shigure glanced down at him. "He's still sleeping, you know how he is with mornings."

Yuki felt a presence behind him and felt a large hand land on his shoulder. Head whipping up, he was met with Ayame's smiling face. His older brother winked at him, leaving Yuki to gaze at him with amazement and confusion. _'Why was his older brother acting like this?'_

"--good vacation now, okay? Just enjoy your time… yes… don't worry.. Okay, bye Tohru!"

The sound of the phone being placed down was the only thing present. There was an odd silence, and Yuki was almost positive that everyone was looking at him. He looked up again at his brother, but this time Ayame wasn't looking at him. An almost serious look in his eyes, Yuki couldn't help but feel that may be interrupting something. Shigure cleared his throat from his stance near the table.

Silence.

"Well!" he clapped his hands together. "Who's hungry?"

**

* * *

**

As breakfast was being served, Hatsuharu had finally woken up and came down. Whether Kyou wanted to admit it or not, it was almost comforting having a lot of people here. Especially if they were family. It truly was a rare occasion for Kyou, who was unused to having more than several family relatives with him at one time. Albeit, he could do better without Ayame's loud antics and Haru's odd behaviors, but it wasn't all **that** bad. The biggest change, however, was the very much different eight-year-old Yuki. What could possibly have happened to Yuki when he was seven and turning eight?

Kyou didn't know where to begin on this line of questioning? Up until now, Yuki had always been more forthcoming with his emotions. But at age eight, there was a definite withdrawn behavior. The morning was slow to progress, and it soon became apparent to everyone that Yuki was different from his previous ages. It didn't take long for Kyou and Haru to figure out that Shigure and Ayame knew. It was even more obvious when they called up Hatori, who had come quite fast, and were speaking quite solemnly to him.

Of course, while all this was happening, Yuki was being watched by his two newest babysitters. Kyou and Hatusuharu. In Yuki's room, no less.

Kyou still blanched at remembering how this came to be. It was right after breakfast…

**

* * *

**

"Mmm! Nothing like instant noodles, curry, and Kyou's favorite, leeks!" Shigure said, making a show of how full he felt.

"I agree!" Ayame announced proudly, eyes dancing merrily is he leaned forward to Shigure's face. Shigure mirrored the reaction, his smile growing. The distance between the two was getting alarmingly small--

"AARRGHH! ENOUGH!" Kyou shouted, having jumped to his feet. "That's digusting!"

Shigure leaned back, shaking his finger in a "tut-tutting" gesture, "Kyou, no need to yell at the table. Your lack of manners is appalling!"

"Yes, Kyon-kichi! Why, even Haru is especially quiet and more well-mannered. And just when we were going to announce the wonderful news."

Haru snapped up at this, he had been busy watching Yuki poke at his food and was wondering if he should ask if anything was wrong with him. "What news?"

"Yuki should hear this, as well. Yuki?"

At the sound of his name, Yuki was snapped from his task of moving rice around his plate. "Hai?" he asked softly.

"Aya, Ha-san, and I had conducted a little interrogation a long time ago, Yuki, when you were seven. You might not remember it now.." Shigure trailed off, waiting to see if Yuki gave any sign of showing that he did remember when he was seven, which in fact was just yesterday.

Kyou's eye immediately twitched when he remembered yesterday. He had completely forgotten about that little session, but he remember it vividly now. _'What does that have to deal with him anyway?'_

"We asked Haru and Kyou some questions, Yuki," Ayame continued for Shigure, "questions like--"

Something whistled through the air, and landing smack on Ayame's face. The green leek landed on the table with a small squish.

"Ehehe.." a sweatdrop appeared over Ayame's head, feeling the burning glare of Kyou's eyes on him. "Well, the content of the questions aren't important, but they were important to see if these two would be responsible enough to take care of you."

Kyou nearly face vaulted at Ayame's statement. He knew for a fact that those questions had nothing to do with judging one of their responsible qualities. "And as such," Shigure spoke up again, "we have decided that Kyou and Haru are responsible enough to watch over you."

They looked at Yuki for his reaction.

"I see. Okay."

Both Haru and Kyou turned to look at Yuki. His response, seemingly normal, lacked any emotion that the seven year old Yuki carried. _'What exactly happened here?_'

For a split second, Haru could've sworn he saw a shadow pass over Shigure's eyes, as if he was recalling something terrible. The same was for Ayame, who had turned away from his brother's face. Frowning at the odd behavior, Haru decided to break the suddenly tense atmosphere. "Why don't we go to Yuki's room, Kyou?"

Kyou looked up at the question, and bit back the sarcastic retort that was waiting. Nodding, he stood up, and the trio made their way to the stairs and out of everyone's hearing range.

**

* * *

**

…And that was how it began. And now, here he was, cooped up in Yuki's room. Yuki didn't seem to show any care towards anything right now, and Haru was no help. The silence was starting to get to Kyou, who could almost swear he could hear… a heartbeat. Disconcerting to say the least, Kyou had tried to ignore it at first. But it was steadily getting louder, but slower. More space in between each beat.

'Just imagining things..'

Beat..Beat..Beat..

'It's just too damn quiet in here..'

Beat…Beat…..Beat…..

'The beat's slowing down.. That can't be too good… argh! What am I thinking? There's no heartbeat.. Just hearing things…'

Beat………Beat…………Beat……..

'Damnit!' He stood up abruptly. Like a switch, the pounding in his ears faded away. Yuki looked up at him from his position on the floor. Hatsuharu looked up from his reading, having gotten a book from off of Yuki's desk, and questioned what Kyou was doing.

"It's too quiet. What are we doing? Just sitting here?"

"It would seem to be that way." Haru's polite tone responded. "Why? Do you have anywhere else to go?"

"Tch.. No. Of course I don't. It just feels like.. I don't know!" _'What do I say? Let's go out and do something? Sounds so sissy…_'

"What do you feel like doing, then?"

The softly spoken question caught both boys off guard. Yuki had stood up from his spot, looking from both Haru and Kyou. "What do you want to do then?" he repeated his question.

**

* * *

**

"Hatori, it's just like before. Yuki is the same, just like after.." Meaningful glance towards Ayame.

They were in Shigure's room, his office too if you considered the fact that he wrote in his novels in here. Ayame was sitting at Shigure's desk, head bowed. Hatori was leaning against the wall, contemplating what Shigure was saying. "We knew this would happen, the woman had told us he would start remembering what has happened at each age. If a particular incident happened when he was 7, then he will remember it tomorrow, when ages to seven years old. Same for he when he turns eight."

Ayame brought his arms up, resting his elbows on the table so he could grasp his head in his hands.

"…Do you think things would be different if we…" Ayame's strained voice faded away.

Hatori's eyes slipped towards his distraught form. Ayame's hair spilled forward, shielding his eyes and effectively covering any expression he had. Shigure moved towards Ayame, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What, Aya?"

"You remember that time, don't you Shigure? You saw. When Yuki had come to me. And I.. I pushed him away."

"…"

"I don't.. I don't even remember why Yuki came to me. I don't even… remember." His hands visibly clenched around his head. "Yuki was different after that. I was the cause of that. But I never saw it, did I? I never saw how different he was."

Shigure looked away, his mouth set in a line.

Ayame continued. "I never saw. Until now."

Hatori shut his eyes.

**

* * *

**

Yuki had a vague sense of déjà vu. Something told him he'd done this before, maybe a long time age? He couldn't remember, it hurt his head to think that far back. All he knew was that he had been climbing down this window before. Or at least trying to. After he had voiced his question out to his cousins, he was surprised to see Kyou answer him first. And his next statement, proposing to sneak out of here to get some fresh air, was a surprise in and of itself. Yuki found he liked this new Kyou better. Although he doubted he'd tell Kyou that.

Kyou had insisted that he go down first, not elaborating on why he'd be waiting at the bottom. Yuki had a feeling that he should know, and found that continuing on this train of thought made him feel uncomfortable. Shrugging inwardly, Yuki held on to the wall and made his way down. It was a bit hard, holding up his own weight, due to the fact that he'd never done something like this before. He remembered vaguely from Hatori, that Kazuma was going to allow him to join with the other Sohma children in learning martial arts. However, Yuki also recalled Akito forbidding him to learn until he was at least ten.

Martial arts training may have helped him in the strength department, something Yuki felt he severely lacked, and would have certainly helped him right now. For at that moment, his small fingers had lost their hold and he plummeted down. It was surreal, the way he fell, not even aware of the sound of the wind rushing by. Head falling back, Yuki had no time to scream, he only gazed back at Haru's horrified face from above. He allowed a smile to grace his face, the feeling of flying overtaking any emotion of fear.

The moment was not to last, though, because he landed heavily into someone's arms. He's eyes flew open immediately, and sounds immediately assaulted his ear. _Harsh breathing. Heart beating rapidly. _The arms tightened around him, keeping him stable, but pinning him there. _Harsh breathing. Heart beating rapidly._ Why wouldn't it stop? Why_…?_ _Stop! Stop! **STOP!**_

"STOP!"

He felt the body stiffen in surprise and he to found himself flushing in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to yell like that. The arms were already beginning to draw away but Yuki unconsciously held onto them. He vaguely wondered if it had hurt Kyou to catch him… and if his brother would do the same.

"..Yuki?"

Yuki obliged Kyou and looked up, his head tipping back so that strands of his hair fell away from his face. His open expression seemed startling to Kyou who made a visible double take. Before anything that Kyou would deem awkward could happen, the sound of someone landing on the ground brought their attention to Haru who seemed to have magically appeared out of nowhere. He wasted no time in immediately coming over, shooting a look towards Kyou. Without a word, Kyou placed Yuki down and stepped back.

"Are you okay, Yuki?"

Yuki nodded his head slightly, wondering at Haru's behavior. Kyou could be heard clearing his throat from behind, and the two turned their attentions towards him. "Why don't we go to the--the park or something?" he asked, stuttering at the destination for the fear of sounding odd.

"The park?" Haru asked politely.

"Yes! The park!" Kyou snapped back angrily, thinking that Haru meant to be sarcastic. "Unless you have better ideas, you stupid cow."

Hatsuharu's lips twitched.

"What? Say that one more time you stupid cat!"

"I called you a stupid cow, you stupid cow!" Kyou yelled back, highly aware how corny his comeback sounded.

"Is that the best you could come up with!?"

"Well--"

Yuki stepped in between them, face completely expressionless. "Stop it."

Hatsuharu hands immediately went slack from their clenched positions, Kyou merely scoffed and turned away. The three boys stood silently at the side of Shigure's house. A distant sound of a bird taking off from a tree resounded in their space. Whether by pure coincidence or not, both Haru and Kyou made a decision to just let their argument slide. Without a word, Kyou headed off towards the woods, the other two boys following dutifully. They'd let Kyou lead for now, as apparently he seemed to know his way around the area.

**

* * *

**

"The past is the past, Ayame. You need to let what's happened go. Yuki is here now, and _this_ is your chance to make amends."

Hatori, playing the spectator to this rare scene, watched as Shigure gave advice to their cousin. These rare times he's seen Shigure speak like this reminded Hatori why he was such a good writer. In all actuality, Shigure did take his writing seriously, just not outwardly. He always seemed to have the right words to say, especially when times called for it. Like now for instance.

Hatori fidgeted for a moment, trying to find a more comfortable position against the wall he was leaning in, as his mind's eye brought him to a memory from the past. A scene he had witnessed, unbeknownst to both Ayame and Yuki. It was already late in the afternoon when he had been there…

**

* * *

**

The Sohma residence was tinged with the dying rays of the sun. The air, that had been humid just a few hours before, was now cool. It had been the perfect time to take a stroll around for Hatori. He rarely indulged himself in these peaceful moments by himself. He was usually caught up in something or other, not that he minded, it was just night to get away now and then. He'd memorized this path before. Trail behind the houses on the East side, then cut across the pebble pathway that led to a small garden outside of Ayame's house. Rather than stopping by, he'd continue across before he'd stop at a small pond than branched off into a little river beside the main house.

Hatori could still remember everything clearly in his mind. It was like he was actually there, watching his younger self walking by Ayame's house and stopping at the sound of voices. He watched himself pause.

Hatori furrowed his brows in curiosity when he heard the sound of young boy speaking from the home. It was certainly a surprise, as it would appear that the eight-year-old Sohma Yuki was home for today. He was normally at the main house with Akito, or kept away due to his delicate condition. Feeling like he may intrude, he set off to walking but stopped again when the boy called out. To his relief, it wasn't for him, but to his elder brother Ayame.

The elder brother must not have caught sight of Hatori standing there because he made no move to call him out. Ayame was standing just outside of the doorway to the house, in the act of leaving. Feeling foolish, Hatori didn't know whether to speak out or keep walking so he did neither. Instead he quickly sidestepped in the tall hedges by the side. _How silly of him to be doing this_, he had thought, _it was completely uncharacteristic of him_. In all honesty, though, Hatori had never witnessed much interacting between the two brothers. At first, he had pegged this for the fact that they were ten years apart, but surely their relationship couldn't be so distanced, could it? The sound of the two speaking silenced any more thoughts.

"O-oniisan? I-I.."

"…" Ayame's mouth was set in a line, his own bangs shielding his eyes. He didn't seem able to look down at his younger brother who had obviously approached the open door.

The lack of response caused Yuki to falter for a moment but he continued. "Oniisan, don't go yet.."

Ayame stepped away from the doorway, taking a few more steps down the stairs. His entire body screamed indifference, or desperation. _Which was it? _Hatori wondered.

Hatori remember then, how he felt. He'd never seen Ayame act so different before. He never treated any of his schoolmates like this. So why his younger brother? He watched his younger self crouch down, fearing that he may be caught. Now that he thought about it, he remembered the feeling of his legs getting cramped after crouching down for so long. Witnessing the longest moment the two brothers shared when they were younger.

Yuki stepped forward, insistent on getting to his brother. He slid the door behind himself shut. "I had a dream.."

Yuki took a step forward.

"About A-akito-sama.." Hatori watched Ayame's hands clench.

He took another step. "and father and mother.." Hatori could see how tense Ayame was, and wondered at that. How uncomfortable Ayame appeared, it was shocking to say the least. The normally confident Ayame seemed like another person to the young man standing over there. One more step and all Yuki would need to do to get his brother was to grab his arm.

"Oniisan, please wait..!" Yuki reached out a small hand to grasp at the hem of Ayame's sleeve.

Hatori's eyes widened.

Ayame, with narrowed eyes, easily pulled his arm free from Yuki's grasp and continued down the stairs and away. Hatori could only stare in bewilderment at this act.

"Oniisan… doushite?" _Why?_

Hatori, who had been watching Ayame's retreating figure, turned his gaze to Yuki, waiting for a reaction from the younger boy. To his surprise, he received none. Nothing like crying or anything. A shadow seemed to pass over his face, and his eyes seemed colder. Yuki seemed to stand up taller, straightening up his posture, eyes still trained on his brother who was walking away.

Hatori witnessed the moment Yuki decided to relinquish his childhood…

**

* * *

**

…And now they were here. Ayame was the one hurting. He, unlike Yuki in the past, did not recover as quickly as Yuki did. Although if you could call Yuki's withdrawing into himself at the age of eight as recovering, then it'd be a completely different story. Ayame regrets what happened before, and as heartening as this was, Shigure was correct. There was no use with regrets of the past. Ayame should be happy that he had this chance to make amends; few siblings could ever get the same chance if they never got along when they were younger.

Whatever Shigure was saying now seemed to be the thing Ayame needed to hear because he was suddenly standing up. The three men stood in silence, much like Hatsuharu, Kyou, and Yuki had been doing outside at that very moment. Ayame let out a deep sigh, before brightening up.

"Ne, Gure-san, Ha-san, if I remember correctly, didn't Tohru call?"

Hatori's eyes slid over Ayame's expression. He checked for signs of fake cheerfulness and found none. He allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "Perhaps, although I think Shigure can answer that better than I can."

Shigure grinned. "Why, Hatori-san, are you trying to flatter me?"

"..No."

"Mou, Ha-san, why can't you play along?"

Ayame joined in with gusto, lamenting the loss of Hatori's 'love' for them. Inwardly, Hatori was happy to see Ayame more at ease. Things still needed to be resolved, but they had time. Yuki was only eight right now, just think how he'd be just before he reaches puberty. Hatori felt curiosity peaking, just as it had in the past, finally allowed the chance to witness Yuki growing up. Literally, in fact. But even more so, this just may be good for both brothers. Hatori hoped so.

**

* * *

**

Yuki took his time looking around at the area. He had no recollection of ever walking around here, and the sights were breathtaking to him. He didn't usually get to go out back at the Sohma House, so right now was a real treat for him. They'd been walking for at least half an hour, Yuki guessed. He was feeling the stirrings of fatigue descend on him, and realized that if he were to have an asthma attack now, he'd probably not fare so well.

Trying not to think of it, for fear that it may come true, Yuki sped up in his pace. Eyes trained in the ground, he didn't notice Kyou had stopped ahead of him and walked in to him.

Kyou heard a small sound behind him _("Oompf!")_ and felt something soft collide into his back. Kyou immediately spun around, eyes growing wide at Yuki's momentary dazed look from the ground. Haru came up from behind Yuki, surprisingly not in black mode, and came to help him up. Kyou found himself beginning to apologize but stopped when Yuki looked up at him and smiled. To increase his amazement, Yuki finally righted himself up and gave a relieved laugh and muttered a small 'sorry'. For what, Kyou didn't know, but apparently it released whatever tension that brief moment it had created. "Why'd you stop Kyou?" Haru asked curiously.

Kyou blanched, remembering the reason he had stopped. While he had been leading them through the woods, his mind sometimes wandered, and so before he even realized it, he had gotten them lost. Of course, they couldn't tell because they probably had less of an idea of where they were going than he was. No use asking Yuki since he wasn't supposed to remember this place. Haru wasn't even worth asking because he managed to lose himself on the way to the bathroom, so finding his way out of a forest wasn't the brightest thing.

He didn't want to admit to them that he'd gotten them lost. He'd just have to retrace his steps. So, with absolutely no consideration in this plan, he'd made a complicated trek through the woods and tried to circle back without making it seem like they were turning around. Of course, it didn't turn out as Kyou had hoped. He recognized that tree. And those rocks. And that damn bird that was still chirping on that limb.

"Let's just rest for awhile." Kyou muttered, not meeting Haru's inquisitive gaze. Hatsuharu seemed to take this as an explanation for the stop because he sat down without a complaint. Yuki didn't seem in the least bit tired to Kyou, unless he was very adept at hiding it. Yuki had approached the tree with the chirping bird on it. Kyou half expected Yuki to say that he recognized this tree, and the bird but to his surprise he said something else.

"I recognize this bird." he said suddenly.

Haru looked up, as did Kyou. The small bird, a canary it would appear, gazed down at Yuki and made small chirping sounds. _'Strange bird to be in a forest.._' Kyou thought to himself. _'Even stranger for Yuki to know it.. How?_'

"What do you mean you recognize it, Yuki?" Hatsuharu asked from beside him.

Yuki seemed to frown as he thought deeply. "A long time ago," he said after a pregnant pause, "I think. I can't really remember." Yuki tilted his head back up, and watched as the bird took off from the tree limb and away.

Hatsuharu looked at Kyou. They had a bad feeling all of a sudden.

"Maybe we should back…" Haru half-whispered, not wanting to attract Yuki's attention.

Kyou frowned, crossing his arms. He didn't want to say that he got them lost, but… "About that.." he started.

**

* * *

**

The famed Mabudachi Trio could be found sitting in Shigure's living room, drinking tea and talking leisurely. Hatori had decided not to disturb the other boys, since they may finally get a chance to have some time away from the 'adults'.

"Let's play truth or dare, Ha-san!"

"Oh! Yes, let's!"

'Hmph. Some adults.' Hatori thought wryly. Any continuation of that train of thought was shattered when the doorbell rang. Shigure paused in contemplation, a finger at his lips. "I wonder who that could be!" Shigure all but sang.

Hatori resisted the urge to roll his eyes and stood up to accompany Shigure to the door. "You two go on ahead, I'll keep an eye on the tea." Ayame said pleasantly, sitting himself more comfortably into the seat.

Shigure stepped ahead of Hatori and reached for the door. With no hesitation, Shigure slid the door opened. Shigure did a small double-take, and Hatori reflexively stiffened.

The person at the door smiled slightly.

"Ha-san? Gure-san? Who's at the door?" Ayame called from the living room.

"Is that you, Ayame?" the deliberate tone was chilling, and seemed to echo in Shigure's home.

"A-Akito..! What are you..?"

Akito smiled pleasantly, his arms wrapped around himself in the imitation of someone trying to warm up in the cold. Unsurprisingly he was dressed in black that matched his hair. The all together effect emphasized Akito's young age, reminding them painfully of the Sohma curse he bared. Hatori felt dread begin to creep on him.

"I've come to pay you all a visit." Akito's eyes narrowed to mere slits. "You've been spending so much time away Hatori..-san." The added '-san' seemed too mocking in Hatori's opinion but he made no reply. By that time, Ayame had come over, standing uncertainly away from the three.

Shigure, suddenly realizing that he was making Akito stand there, immediately ushered him in. He was working in auto-pilot, his mind racing to think of something when Akito mentioned Yuki. There were no 'ifs' with Akito when it came to Yuki. He would most definitely be expecting to see him, and if he failed to show up, then they'd have to deal with Akito's reaction.

Akito seemed to be the only one at ease from the four, seating himself on the couch. He made no inclination to requiring tea to be served so Shigure allowed himself to relax for a moment. Akito apparently wasn't going to go straight to the point. For once, he was glad for Akito's schemes. His tactics to create unease among them. They were all older than him, and yet he managed to keep everyone in check with more than just the title to the bearer of the curse. It was unnerving to say the least.

"So, Shigure, how is everyone?" Akito asked languidly, piercing eyes resting on Shigure's form.

"We're all fine," Shigure began politely, flustered with Akito's gaze, "how are you doing Akito?"

Akito's sardonic smile melted away. "I? I am doing as well as I can, considering the circumstances."

Shigure prevented himself from wincing. Remembering quite vividly the time when Akito had held Tohru down by her hair. He remembered Akito's words. All of them did.

Shigure chose not to reply.

Ayame, who remained quiet all this time, took this chance to study Akito without worry. Out of the three, he had spent the least amount of time in Akito's presence. A good amount of people had said that Yuki resembled a younger Ayame, but it was obvious the similarities of appearance between Akito and Yuki. How odd for two of them, Ayame and Akito, to be similar to Yuki but completely different from each other. It may be the style of their hair, although different colors, or it may be the fragility the two exuded, Ayame just couldn't put his finger on it. It unnerved him, he almost felt a bit protective of Yuki at this point. He didn't even want to entertain the idea that he may look similar to someone such as Akito. He was just too… frightening.

Ayame allowed himself the luxury of analyzing the way Akito was speaking towards Shigure and Hatori. He was being ignored for the moment, and for once, was glad for the lack of attention paid to him. Ayame knew that Akito had a sharp wit, his words cutting people down in an instant. He had only gotten to experience it once, and it was a small comment that Akito had thrown out carelessly.

"Sohma Ayame? Ah yes, the snake. How easily forgotten he is, the snake, hm?"

Ayame nearly recoiled at the memory. Being forgotten took on a whole new meaning to Ayame. He hadn't felt that bad before, and it left him feeling cold when he heard Akito utter those words.

"Coming to make amends with Yuki.. Ayame-san?" Akito smiled pleasantly, eyes watching Ayame's avidly.

**

* * *

**

"You WHAT!?"

"..m'lost.." Kyou muttered. He hadn't the energy to yell back at Haru because he really knew he was in the wrong. Yuki had been standing off to the side the entire time, not seeming to care about their predicament. Kyou half wondered if Yuki had wanted to get lost.

"We have to get there somehow, Kyou! Can't you.. I don't know.. Smell your way back?"

Kyou's eye twitched. "I'm not a damn dog, _Haru_. Besides, I could try, but it'd be better if I was in my zodiac form."

Yuki's attention was brought immediately towards Kyou. As long as Yuki could remember, he hadn't heard Kyou speaking so casually about his zodiac form. Whether monster or cat form. Perhaps Kyou hadn't realized it, but Yuki certainly had. He let his eyes slip towards Haru's form and realized that even Haru didn't notice. '_How odd.._' Yuki thought to himself. Deciding that he should probably help them, although reluctant to return back, Yuki stepped towards them.

"How, though? We'd need a girl or for you to get sick.." Yuki trailed off. Yuki couldn't remember all the times he'd turn into his mouse form when he was too sick at the Sohma House.

"Hold on a minute, I think Yuki may be on to something." Haru suddenly spoke, staring at Kyou with a new light.

Kyou felt uneasiness at the pit of his stomach. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"To change, you need to be hugged by a girl."

"Yeah, so?"

"Or you could get sick.."

"Tch, that's not about to happen."

"Or, we could put you through a lot of stress!"

Kyou stared at him like he was crazy. "How's that supposed to work?"

Hatsuharu grinned, remembering the memory fondly. When Yuki had an asthma attack, and had to be carried back home. Yuki had turned so red when Tohru called his name. Haru assumed that it'd be different in Kyou's case.

"We need you to get you all hot and bothered." He said with a half smile, laughter threatening to burst.

"W-WHAT!?" Kyou stood up quickly, not liking where this was going. He was almost afraid to ask the rest but--

"H-HOW THEN? IF YOU'RE SO SMART, HOW?!"

"I'm thinking," Haru paused, frowning in thought, "I guess I could try--"

"--try what?!--"

"--but it'd probably work better if Yuki would do it--"

"--do what?!--"

"--And issues of morality will definitely be brought up after this is done. But it's the only thing we can do now." Haru stood up with a resolute air. He approached Kyou doggedly, forcing the other boy to step back.

"Now, h-hold on a minute Haru, what exactly are you doing?!"

Yuki watched with wide eyes. What exactly _was_ Haru's plan? And why would he be better for the job if Haru wasn't? He squinted his eyes and tilted his head to get a better look at what Haru was doing. _'Why's he cornering Kyou against the tree?'_ Yuki thought to himself.

Hatsuharu placed both hands on either side of Kyou's face and leaned in. Kyou's face was mere inches away from his own. With a small smirk, he brought his own closer.

Kyou could feel Haru's presence all around him, and could see his face coming towards his own. _'He's not--No! No!'_ Kyou screamed. Shock must have him paralyzed, because he didn't think of pushing Haru away. He could already feel his face heating up, any more and he'd probably explode…

"AAARGH---" **POOF!**

Haru smiled in triumph and stepped back. His plan had worked after all.

"What the hell?!" Kyou yelled from the ground, in his cat form. "What's your problem you damn cow?!"

"I had to get you to change, Kyou," Haru explained calmly, "so that was the only way. Although I must say I'm relieved. The distance was rapidly decreasing."

Yuki, who had been watching the entire time, found himself inexplicably smiling at the boys. _'Silly…_' Yuki thought to himself. Deciding that he should change the subject for Kyou, he asked, "So, can you smell our way back, Kyou?"

"Tch. Yeah. Follow me." with furious indignity, Kyou led them down the trail. _'Damn cow.._'

**

* * *

**

Yuki found himself smiling down at Kyou's form. It would look odd to spectators, seeing a small boy and an older one being led through a forest by an orange cat that talked. Kyou was wasting no time it hurrying down the trail, on the way home. Yuki understood his urgency, his own small arms tightening around Kyou's clothes. It would be frustrating to have Kyou turn back if they were already so near to Shigure's house. Luckily, Kyou's agitation seemed to be prolonging the time it took for him to change back. Otherwise, they would have to deal with a repeated action of last time, although Yuki highly doubted Kyou would be as receptive as before.

Thinking back on that incident still raised questions in his head. What exactly was Hatsuharu doing? He had taken a threatening stance, towering over Kyou like that. Threatening in his opinion, because it reminded him of how Akito was around him. Always invading his personal space, like it didn't matter to him if it bothered Yuki. Shuddering slightly to himself, he opened his eyes. They had closed of their own accord when a memory of Akito was threatening to overtake him. Just the thought of being around Akito sent chills down his spine. In the back of his mind, he wondered if it was the same for the other Sohma family members.

Yuki looked to the side of him, watching Haru through the corner of his eyes. The teen hadn't spoken at all after the incident in the forest, and seemed content to walk in silence. Yuki couldn't remember a time when he saw Haru so at peace. It was definitely a far cry from when they'd first met. Or maybe that was the wrong thing to say. They'd met each other, or at least seen each other during the Feast. What Yuki was referring to was the time near the Main House. The circumstances which brought him there weren't pleasant to think about, but the result of it was warming to his mind.

As the walk continued, Yuki allowed his mind to drift back into those memories. Memories that brought Black Haru the release he needed…

* * *

It was two weeks since Yuki had seen or spoken to his brother, Ayame. His attempt at garnering comfort from his older brother had been futile. It was obvious to Yuki that his brother wanted nothing to do with him. He assumed that it shouldn't have surprised him, when he thought back to all the small moments where Ayame didn't even glance his way. Each ignoring gesture solidified Akito's words to him, that day after the children's memories were erased because of him. He knew he'd been sent to speak to Akito about it, but that piece of knowledge didn't help one bit. It was fortunate for him that he didn't have to come face to face with Akito. But Akito's words alone were enough to frighten him. 

"--A human who turns into a rat? What do you think they would do if they knew? Really? You're a freak. They wouldn't come near you. They'd hate you…"

At the time, he hadn't expected that Akito might mean that family members would hate you too. It was clear that Ayame must feel the same way. He wouldn't come near him. He hated him. Feeling himself tremble, he wrapped his arms around himself, sliding down the wall of the empty room he was in. It's been two weeks since he last spoke to Ayame, and he was still so weak about it. Yuki's personal turmoil prevented him from hearing Akito walk in. It was only until he heard the door slide closed that he even looked up it.

"A-Akito-sama!"

The boy in question was looking down at him, strands of his black hair in front of his eyes. Yuki slowly pushed himself against the wall, a vain wish to disappear into the wall and away from Akito.

Just as sudden as Akito's presence was, he stepped back just as quickly. The small smile never left his face as he took a seat in front of Yuki. Frowning slightly in confusion, Yuki composed himself and kneeled obediently in front of him. Yuki was use to this. If Akito wasn't cutting him with words, he would be talking about the other Sohma members who were cursed. It never ceased to produce a strange feeling in Yuki. He didn't know any of the others who bore the same curse very well, but he still felt the small feeling of protectiveness in him. Or maybe it was just irritation on his part. He didn't spend too much time to think about it, so he waited in silence to see who would speak about today.

"Tell me Yuki, do you remember the story of the zodiac?"

The question was definitely odd, but Yuki dutifully answered. "Hai.."

"And how exactly," his grin curved into something more menacing, "did the Rat get to the banquet?"

Blinking, Yuki recited the part of the story. All of the cursed Sohma's knew the story by heart, it was tradition. "The Rat rode on the cow's back to the banquet.."

Akito scoffed openly, his face turned to look out the window. "The cow was a stupid fool… letting the rat use him like that…"

The breeze outside seemed to blow harder for a moment, rustling the leaves outside harder.

Yuki allowed himself to look at Akito without worrying about a negative reaction. _'What brought this on?'_ he wondered to himself.

To his immediate surprise, Akito stood up in a fluid motion and walked towards the window. Yuki could see that Akito was silently looking for something outside, but then after a moment Akito stepped back. He swept out of the room without a backward glance towards Yuki, leaving him there to wonder at his behavior.

At the very least, Yuki was shown a small mercy at Akito's departure. Curiosity was mingling with confusion in his head as he approached the window Akito had looked through. His amethyst eyes searched the area, but he couldn't seem to find exactly what Akito was looking for. Yuki turned around, and let himself rest against the wall. He looked at the doorway which Akito had walked out of and idly wondered if he would come back again.

His train of thought was cut when he heard a brief gasp from behind him. _'Are the others out there enjoying the weather?'_ he wondered to himself, wishing he too, could step out.

To his shock and disappointment, the gasp was followed by an angry voice. An angry voice of a boy.

"I hate your guts! It's the rat's fault for cow always being laughed at! It's the mean, dirty rat's fault that the cow is a fool, that the cow is an idiot! It's all, all your fault!"

The boy was already breathing hard from his shouting, and Yuki could feel the burn from his glare on the back of his head. _'Did he… hear what Akito said?_' Yuki guessed he did. "Is that so?"

The harsh breathing paused for a moment. Ever so slightly, Yuki turned his head until a side view of his face could be seen.

"Is that so about you?"

"…"

"Are you really… a fool?" _'Do you really hate me as well?' _Yuki asked himself, as he voiced the first question out loud.

The boy's response wasn't immediate, only the wind blowing by made a sound.

"No… No, I'm not… I…" Yuki turned around fully, getting a clear look at him. I remembered his name, Hatsuharu. The boy didn't seem to notice him now, his eyes were trained to the ground. Yuki could almost see a glimmer of tears at the corner of Haru's eyes.

"I'm not a fool… I'm not a fool!" Haru repeated twice, the second time sounding almost surprised. Yuki felt himself smiling, wondering at how much calmer the boy seemed when he stated those words aloud.

"Mm-hmmm.." Yuki agreed softly, smiling wider when the boy looked up in surprise, as if he had forgotten Yuki was there.

"I know."

The boy looked up at him, a small 'o' for a mouth as he stared at Yuki…

* * *

…the meeting had definitely been an eye-opener. He dared another look at Hatsuharu, in the back of his head acknowledging Kyou yelling _("Hurry up!")_, and wondered if Haru still remembered that time. He stumbled a bit and blinked when he found Haru's arm steadying him. There was a soft smile on his face as he looked back at Yuki. 

"A-arigatou…"

Hatsuharu just smiled and released his hold. The moment was broken at the sound of Kyou's yell, followed by a resounding **poof!**

There was frantic rustling as both boys hurried forward to where they heard the sound. "Kyou?" Haru called.

Kyou's head popped around from behind a large tree. He was scowling and mutely held out his hand. Yuki stepped forward, noticing the redness staining Kyou's cheeks, and handed over Kyou's clothes. In record time that was normal to the Sohma's, Kyou changed back into his clothes and stepped out from behind the tree. He had his eye closed, while he busied himself with straightening his shirt.

"We're not too far from Shigure's." he muttered, and he set off into the direction. Without a word, the other two followed.

* * *

Ayame felt himself blanching, rather than producing his usual effect of standing up and proclaiming how much he and his brother needed each other. Akito could sense his uneasiness which only served to widen his smile. 

"No, I don't suppose you would, would you?" Akito continued, not waiting for Ayame to respond. "You do so horribly, from what I understand."

His hands clenched at his side, as he continued to listen to Akito speak. Akito's main power, it would seem, lay with his words. Akito could drudge up the worst feelings in anyone, merely by speaking to them, dissecting them with his remarks that mirrored a twisted truth. Ayame had to admit, though, that Akito was right. He did do horribly. What could he possibly say back to that?

"I try.." Ayame started, secretly pleased to see Akito surprised. It was apparent that he hadn't expected him to speak back. Shigure's eyes widened from his spot, and he looked at Ayame curiously. Was he going to stand up to Akito?

For once, Ayame found himself deciding not to try his usual antics. There would be no loud statements, no suggestive gestures with Shigure, he'd try explaining it without any of his usual comforts. "I'm going to… well, _steal_, my brother's affection." He tried smiling, but found it fading when Akito's smile dropped. His dark eyes were narrowed as he regarded Ayame.

"Steal Yuki's affections?" A silent '_from me?'_ was tagged on to the end of the question. He smirked coldly, "And what a clumsy thief you turned out to be, ne? Ayame-san?" he laughed softly.

Hatori's lips were pursed together tightly, as he looked back from Akito to Ayame's face. He wondered to himself what Ayame was going to say in response. A small part of him rationalized that Ayame should just keep his comments to himself, or else risking further angering Akito. And yet… he almost wished that Ayame would continue, and try to show that he really was determined on getting his point across to Akito. It was like playing with fire..

He looked again at Ayame, and watched as the snake of the zodiac's eyes dulled at Akito's words. Hatori looked away.

"Akito-sama--" Shigure tried, worried for his friend, but was stopped when Akito yelled for silence.

"Let the snake speak if he so wishes." Akito said, looking from Shigure's direction back to Ayame's face.

"Are you so deluded that you would think that you could get Yuki to even look at you?" he sneered openly. "If he looks at you, then it is out of disgust. Is it not, Ayame-san?"

Ayame flinched, his mind bringing up unwanted images of the times he had tried speaking to Yuki in the present time. All his attempts had gone awry, but… the time when he spoke to Yuki at his store. Akito was wrong. Yuki still… he still looked at him. He did!

Shigure found himself watching in amazement as Ayame's eyes suddenly flashed, his hands clenched, and he turned towards Akito's face resolutely. "Yuki may be my little brother, but that isn't a reason for him to pay me any attention. Yuki has kindness, Akito, and I will make sure to correct my past mistakes!"

Akito's eyes widened in shock. _'The snake… he dares…'_ Like a flash, he shot up from his chair, pointing a finger at Ayame's taken aback stance.

"You're wrong! You lie!" he spat. "The snake can only tell lies! Lies to cover up his own _failures_!"

"Akito!" Shigure called in alarm, standing up to hold Akito back from lunging at Ayame.

With surprising strength, Akito wrenched himself from Shigure's hold and snatched one of the cups that held tea. Ayame didn't have time to react and cried aloud when the hard porcelain of the cup crashed into his head.

Blood splattered.

"Ayame!"

* * *

The sight of Shigure's house ahead was a welcome sight for the three boys, and they immediately hurried towards the front door. Kyou and Yuki, who were a little ways ahead of Hatsuharu, didn't notice the white and black-haired boy pause in his walk. 

'Hmm.. Is that..?' Haru wondered to himself, eying the dark car parked some distance away from Shigure's house. He turned back around towards Shigure's house and suddenly got a bad feeling. He jogged towards the other two, quietly as he could, and told them to be silent.

"What the hell do you mean?" Kyou demanded, his hand pausing from reaching out to slide open the door.

Haru didn't have to answer because the sounds of a yell, then a crash, followed by more yelling were heard.

Yuki felt himself go cold. _'Akito… oniisan!'_

His panicked expression was the first thing Kyou noticed at the corner of his eye, and it was all the warning he got, before he watched Yuki frantically trying to get around him to get to the door. Kyou acted quickly. He immediately grabbed Yuki around the waist, putting one hand over his mouth.

Haru, understanding, stepped back to allow Kyou room to step back and away from Shigure's house. He ignored Yuki's struggling and attempts at escaping, instead, he spoke to Haru.

"We have to get him out of here."

Haru nodded, glancing back at Shigure's house. "We can't try heading inside because Akito may be searching the rooms. We can only hide back in that forest, although I doubt getting lost again would be best idea."

Kyou nodded, frowning in concentration as he strengthened his hold on Yuki. The boy's attempts were already slowing him down, exhaustion quickly settling in. "We can always head back to his garden."

"Okay."

The two set off, one struggling in the arms of the boy, as this time, Hatsuharu led the way.

Yuki closed his eyes. _'Oniisan..'_

_

* * *

_

Hatori rushed to Ayame's side, trying to pull Ayame's hand from his face. A cursory glance at the damage, Hatori was relieved to see that no shards had embedded themselves into Ayame's face, and not one speck got into his eye.

"Ayame.." he started.

Ayame seemed to be in a state of shock, just watching Akito's struggles die down, before he had to sit down. Hatori sighed, and looked across to meet Shigure's eyes. A silent communication passed between them before Shigure switched roles with him.

Hatori approached Akito, and with care, helped him up. He wasn't met with protests, and was thankful for this. Akito's eyes were closed, leaning most of his weight heavily onto Hatori. His tantrum had sapped much of Akito's strength, so Hatori had to hurry in bringing him back to the Sohma house where there were more supplies to tend to Akito.

He nodded once more to Shigure and helped Akito outside.

Shigure turned back to Ayame, coaxing him to sit down while he got the first aid kit. He came running back, and proceeded to dab the blood off with a clean cloth.

"Aya?" he asked softly, wiping away the traces of blood so he could inspect the gash. There was a small cut along his forehead, but a deeper gash along his cheek. Receiving no response, he picked up an astringent for the cuts, and poured a few drops along the edge of a q-tip. Finishing, he covered the gash first, and then put a small bandage over the cut on his forehead.

His small wounds tended must've snapped Ayame out of his daze because he finally looked up at Shigure.

"He's right…" it was spoken softly, but since there was no sound in the house, it seemed to echo in the room. "I have so many failures, Gure', too many."

Shigure paused, staring at Ayame, and picked his words carefully.

"Akito… he forgot to mention something."

Ayame looked at him questioningly.

"You're accomplishments." he stated, only shaking his head to still Ayame's protests. "Nothing stops you from approaching Yuki, Ayame, and every day you're already making up for your past mistakes. No one expects you to be perfect, but reaching out to Yuki is enough."

"Shigure.." Ayame began, his smile coming back.

"Sou," Shigure stood suddenly, hands rubbing in glee, "Let's check on the boys?"

Ayame smiled softly, and stood up as well.

Pause.

"GURE'! YOUR WORDS ARE SO HEARTWARMING!" Ayame declared loudly. His loud voice suddenly dropped, and he eyed Shigure. "I'm sure they can warm other things, ne, Gure… san?"

"Aya.." Shigure returned Ayame's seductive glance.

They grinned simultaneously, both giving a thumbs-up. Shigure grinned, following Ayame up the stairs. _'I'm glad Ayame is back.'_

Upon reaching the door to Yuki's room, Ayame banged on the door. He waited no time in calling out, "KYON-KICHI! I hope you and Haru aren't doing anything to my cute little brother Yuki!"

Shigure waited in bated breath to see if either of the boys would break down the door to get to Ayame but frowned when Ayame's exclamation didn't get any response.

"That's odd."

Shigure approached the door, knocking more reservedly, and waited to see if he could hear anything. "Ayame.. I don't think anyone's in there."

Ayame's smile bled way. "…NANI!!?"

* * *

"ACHOO!" 

Yuki blinked at Haru and Kyou, wondering at how the two could sneeze simultaneously.

Kyou glared at Haru, as if blaming him for the unexplainable urge to sneeze, and looked around. Yuki's garden was starting to show signs of neglect, a few rampant weeds here and there, not to mention that a few of Yuki's plants were starting to look limp. Yuki had no previous knowledge of ever owning or tending to this garden, but he felt the inexplicable urge to fix it.

He stepped towards to the small patch of garden and methodically cleared away any dead leaves and twigs that had fallen against the vegetables there. He absentmindedly pulled weeds closer towards him, mindful of getting too much dirt on himself, and did what he could to help the garden. Kyou watched all this in silence, seeing the familiarity in which Yuki treated the plants. He felt Hatsuharu step beside him, also gazing at Yuki's silent work, before he turned away.

"Kyou, maybe we should head back now."

Kyou glanced at him, then towards the direction of Shigure's house. They couldn't know for sure if the time was safe, but Kyou found himself agreeing with Haru's suggestion. Haru always had a sense of things, his intuition unrivaled by any of the Sohmas' Kyou knew.

"Oi! Yuki!" he called.

At the call of his name, Yuki immediately stood up, brushing off any excess dirt before heading towards them. His quick actions surprised Kyou, not accustomed to Yuki's obedience. It could be attested to the fact that he was older, although how Yuki quickly accepted this, was beyond him.

They headed back, the main thought in both Kyou and Haru's mind was that the house was safe. Neither boy knew that Yuki was busy worrying about how his older brother was faring.

* * *

The road was already dark, the day having ended quickly in Hatori's opinion. The Sohma House was a considerable distance from Shigure's house, although Hatori wasn't rushing the drive. Still, his attention never wavered. 

Hatori kept his eyes on the road, not one glancing at the figure in the backseat. He was worried about Ayame, but knew that it was nothing life-threatening. Akito, on the other hand, wasn't doing as well. His recent tantrums were always heated, and Akito neglected in keeping his health in check. Especially when he was easily riled about something.

Times like these, Hatori could honestly believe that Akito is truly younger than them. Most of the time, he acted older. Or superior would've been a good word for it. Either way, Hatori had relied on that when he talked Akito into resting, or into taking his medication. The relationship of the Sohmas' was truly complicated, something Hatori had conceded to the day Akito had nearly blinded him.

His musings were interrupted at the sound of the steady voice of Akito. "It seems my exertions have made me forget why I came."

Hatori only glanced at the rear view mirror once, but only met the side of Akito's face. He was busy staring outside, eyes watching something from afar.

Hatori made no move to reply, assuming that Akito was merely stating something aloud. In spite of this, Akito turned forward.

"I'll have to visit Yuki another time, ne, Hatori-san?"

A muscle flexed in Hatori's jaw.

"If your health improves." he answered back lightly, keeping his voice to a clinical drone.

Akito merely nodded at his advice, and resumed staring at the window. Hatori, himself, was curious at what was occupying Akito, but he never bothered asking. At the darkness slowly settling outside, Hatori vaguely wondered at what Akito could possibly see out there. _How_ he could even _see_ anything out there. It was all well and good, anyway, because Akito was merely tracking a bird's destination. His own companion that stayed with him at the Sohma house. Akito smiled tenderly, his dark eyes watching the bird flap its wings towards home.

* * *

"Oi! We're home!" Kyou called out, once they all stepped inside. 

Hatsuharu's eyes immediately caught sight of the shattered tea cup, and he discretely stepped in front of Yuki's vision. It didn't bother Yuki, though, because he was busy looking for his brother. It didn't matter about past things to Yuki at the moment. Anything dealing with Akito tended to throw other reasons out the window.

Shigure came down the stairs first, his surprise at seeing them being replaced by instant cheer. More footsteps followed, and Ayame was seen.

"What the hell happened to you?" Kyou asked bluntly.

Ayame touched his cheek lightly, glancing at Shigure momentarily, before walking down the stairs ahead of him. "Maa, maa, is Kyon-kichi worried? Oh, Shigure, competition has arrived! But Kyon-kichi--"

"--Would you quit calling me that!--"

"--has decided to sweep me off my feet and carry--"

"--What the hell do you mean? Sweep you off your feet, my as--"

"--me off into the moonlig--"

Anything more than Ayame was going to continue was halted when he felt a slight tugging at his robe. He looked down, astonished to see Yuki there, gazing up at him worriedly.

Kyou's heated ranting trailed off into silence as everyone watched Yuki with his older brother.

"Oniisan.. daijou--" his question of asking him if he was alright was cut off when Ayame tilted his head kindly, and placed his hand gently atop Yuki's head.

"Aa.."

* * *

A/N: Wow! Definitely my longest chapter.. Yikes.. XD

So? What do you think? I think I'm pleased with this chapter. XD I don't usually go so dramatic, but it's a nice change for me. I know that it would seem like Hatori would be the one to give the profound advice to Ayame, as I displayed his intuitiveness in **Brotherly Love**, but I don't want to shadow the fact that Shigure is just as intuitive, even more so since he spends more time with Yuki and will know how to deal with explaining his behavior to Ayame.

Also, I hoped you enjoyed the little flashback scene. I didn't want to make it overly dramatic, but I think I'll explain it here. Basically, I don't quite remember where I heard this, but I know that Ayame had turned Yuki away when he came to him after a bad dream or something of that sort. Well, I included it here. It may seem a bit much for Yuki to react the way he did, 'relinquishing his childhood' or something along those lines, but you have to bear in mind that this **isn't** the first time Ayame has turned him away. Hatori just happened to witness only **one** of these incidents.

And the small OOC with Hatori may be a bit off, but I felt that we needed a more human tone to Hatori. He can no longer remain the cold, stand-offish, but all-knowing advice giver person. No, I'm not trying to be sarcastic or even mean. I happen to think he has many layers that I'm trying to bring out. But there's no need to look to closely into my descriptions. Nothing deep and profound here. XD Of course, I did manage to include a little humor at the end. **T**h**o**s**e** w**h**o **h**a**d** r**e**q**u**e**s**t**e**d **f**o**r** y**a**o**i** i**n** t**h**i**s** s**t**o**r**y **o**r **i**n **B**r**o**t**h**e**r**l**y** L**o**v**e**, w**e**r**e** d**i**s**a**p**p**o**i**n**t**e**d** w**h**e**n** I **s**a**i**d **t**h**e**r**e** w**o**u**l**d**n**'t **b**e. **A**n**d** t**h**e**r**e _**i**s**n**'t_, **B**U**T**, I **l**i**k**e **t**o **a**d**d** l**i**t**t**l**e** t**h**i**n**g**s** h**e**r**e** a**n**d **t**h**e**r**e** t**h**a**t** i**m**p**l**y **i**t **f**o**r** y**o**u**r** e**n**j**o**y**m**e**n**t. XD **D**o**n**'t **y**o**u** l**o**v**e** m**e** n**o**w? **A**g**a**i**n, **f**o**r **t**h**e** h**e**a**r**i**n**g **i**m**p**a**i**r**e**d, **T**H**E**R**E** I**S** N**O** Y**A**O**I**!

And would you look at that? I've gone and made a wordy author's note. Well, I hope you enjoyed my feelings on this story. This seems to be carrying more of the drama than the other Fruits Basket story. The other one carries more comic relief, which is a godsend for me, since I need time to get away from all this drama. XD And yes, to those who are wondering, I will update that soon. For now, tell me what you think of the story so far in a review! And continue to wave those S.B.B.Org banners! **_IF YOU WANT UPDATES, LEAVE YOUR EMAIL AND A MESSAGE SAYING SO!_**


	4. Day 4

**Title:** Second Chances

**Author: **Gia

**E-Mail:** divinechild18(at) h o t m a i l . c o m

**Website: **www . geocities . com / s underscore b underscore b underscore org

**Rating:** G

**Pairing: **None

**Time:** Present time during the anime. However, taking place during summer vacation.

**Summary:** What if Ayame had a second chance to make up for Yuki's childhood? Yuki has reverted into a 6yr-old, with no recollection of his older self. How will everyone react? How will Akito react to this?

**Disclaimer:** I own not a thing. Besides, if I did. You wouldn't be reading this. You'd be watching it. XD

**Author Notes:** How are you liking the story so far? Don't you just love the long chapters? Now, although that means it'll take longer to update, it allows you to have an achingly long chapter! XD The story actually seems a lot longer, although, it will only be ten chapters. Perhaps an epilogue or not, depending on my mood. My updates haven't exactly been consistent, for both my anime fics and my Harry Potter ones. Countless authors have given school as the reason, and I must say that I am one of them.

Grr..first semester ended...

**ALSO,** I may have altered the order of events. Specifically, the martial arts training and Hatsuharu's outburst at Yuki. I know, at least in the anime, that Haru yelled at Yuki while he was already taking martial arts lessons. But as you read, in this story, Hatsuharu had already yelled at Yuki… I'm glad no one's gotten on my case about the difference but I'd just like to clear up a few things.

Now where was I? Oh! I just wanted to say that the events are obviously different from the original order. Just accept that little mishap.. Also, if Haru seems a little weird, I think it's because of the recent animes I've been watching… and I keep picture Ibu Shinji's personality on Hatsuharu…. O.o… how weird is that? Anyway, READ THE CHAPTER NOW!

* * *

Fl**a**_shb_**a**_ck_

…The sun was dipping low behind the clouds, the now quiet Sohma estate bathed in a ruby color. All the current Sohmas present within the estate were already within the confines of their home either finishing their dinner or laying down to sleep. The day had been like all other days, monotonous in its routine. No one complained really, content to just go the day like usual. Now, at night, they were not troubled by any unexpected surprises. No… for why should they? The day was normal, achingly so.

That is to say, it should have been normal. As the sun's rays disappeared and the entire clothed in darkness, a petite figure stepped out from a one of the houses along the East side of the Sohma estate. A nine-year-old Yuki Sohma clutched his robes around his body tighter, trying to ward away the chill that seeped into his bones. He never glanced at the small garden in front of his house, choosing instead to hurriedly make his way along the path.

Only the slight crunching of his footsteps and the trickling of water sounded, that is to say, the water from a small pond that branched off into a little river beside the main house, sounded in the dark. Yuki bit his lip in worry when he a sliding door on the side of the house loomed in front of him. He had never left his house this late at night, though indeed it was only nine. However…

'Akito-sama… I hope he…'

Yuki crept closer and silently slid the door open before walking inside. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust but the shadowed figure in the corner immediately brought all his senses on alert. Yuki hurriedly walked forward, kneeling respectively in front of Akito. There was a small light lit in the room across but it only increased the shadows on the opposite side of the room where Akito and Yuki were now sitting at.

Yuki cringed and quickly bowed, berating himself for forgetting. He waited for Akito to speak first and frowned when no sound came from the youth. Just as he was about to sneak a peak, a finger appeared under his chin to tilt his head upwards.

"Punctual, hm, Yuki. It befits you." Akito tilted his head to the side, smiling.

Yuki inclined his head in thanks, but also to dislodge the finger from being anywhere near him.

"Akito-sama, about the lessons with Kazuma. You said--"

"--I said?" Akito pushed black strands away from his face as he regarded Yuki in front of him. "What did I say?"

Yuki faltered, wondering if this was some type of trick question. He took a deep breath. "You said I could take lessons with-with the others. Kazuma-sensei will be coming tomorrow. I wanted to see the others," Yuki glanced at Akito's face to see his reaction so far, "like Kagura and Haru… even K-Kyou--"

There was a derisive snort from Akito that made Yuki frown. He tried again, "Akito-sama--"

The other boy stood up fluidly from his seated position, brushing by Yuki so that his own kimono briefly covered him before pulling away. Yuki whipped his head around, wondering where the older boy was going and quickly stood up. Akito was sliding open the door that led into the main hallway of the Main House--

Yuki felt his breath catch. _'No--!!'_

"_M-MATTE!" W-WAIT!… _Yuki cried, "_AKI--!"_

The other boy had spun around at the exclamation, lunging forward to cover Yuki's mouth with his hand.

"**_Be quiet!_**" the other boy hissed, bringing his face close to stare at him with angry eyes. "Someone could _hear_ you!"

"D-demo…" _B-but…_

"**No**. You aren't allowed to go. That is my decision."

Yuki's eyes widened. His struggling to remove Akito's hand up to that moment slacked off and he could only stare despairingly at the now calm, and not to mention cruel stare of Akito's eyes. Akito closed his eyes and opened them with a cheerful smile on his face as he brought Yuki forward into an embrace. "Maa, Yuki, no need to look so sad. How about you start next year? Hm… yes, I think that's best."

Yuki felt a burning sensation in his eyes, and inwardly fought with himself to not cry. Needless to say, he wasn't returning the mocking embrace. Akito stepped back, smiling as if to admire his handiwork before turning around and leaving the room without a word.

Yuki stood there, staring ahead him of but not really paying attention to anything. Just like that, Akito had refused.

_'Next year… next year…'_ Yuki turned around, angrily brushing a hand across his eyes to wipe away stray tears._'Kazuma and the others will be here learning… and… and I'll be there too! I'll find a way to watch…'_ With these thoughts, Yuki quickly made his back to his house. The chilled air no longer bothered Yuki. He eased the doors open and crept through the hallway to his room. On his way there, he passed by his brother's room.

Never quite resisting the urge, Yuki pushed the door open and peaked in to look at his brother. Yuki didn't know why he bothered, not after Ayame always ignored his presence. Yuki's eyes traced Ayame's peaceful face, glancing at the gentle smile his brother carried. _'He never smiles at me…_'

Yuki shook his head to get rid of his thoughts and stepped back to close the door. Now wasn't the time to think of his brother. Yuki headed to his own room, and only until he was in bed, did he think about the following morning. No matter what, he would go see Kazuma train the others…

E_nd o_**f**_ fl_**a**_shb_**a**_ck_

_

* * *

_

The sun shone through the window, brightening up the entire room to an almost dazzling white. It was around ten in the morning, yet the air remained crisp and breezy. Everyone within Shigure's home was already awake save for one peculiar person. Ignoring the fact that _all_ said occupants transformed into animals, this particular person had more than animal-changing proneness. Something along the lines of aging day by day…

The transition from sleep to wakefulness was so quick for Yuki that it was akin to the blink of an eye. Still, as soon as he realized exactly what _day_ it was, he nearly fell over himself in his haste to get out of bed. A nine year-old Yuki stood in his room, a sight to behold, as the original Yuki was much older. No dramatic changes had taken place, save for an inch grown in height. What, may you ask, would seem different now?

The rare excitement in the young boy's eyes. _'Today is the **day**..'_ Yuki thought with a small smile.

The happiness was short-lived, however, when he took notice of the room around him. Frowning, he turned his attention towards his-- 

'_That's… not my bed.'_

Yuki backed away from the bed slowly, not quite sure what he was going to do at that moment. Having never been put in this situation, Yuki couldn't help but think of his older brother at this moment. Would anyone notice that he wasn't at the Sohma House? Of course! Akito, if no one else.

Yuki shuddered at the thought but stiffened when he heard footsteps outside the door. He sucked in his breath sharply, fearing that whoever was on the other side would hear him…

"D'you think he's awake?" came a whisper.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" was the hissed reply.

Yuki blinked. '_Why does that sound… familiar?' _he wondered to himself. Fear kept himself still but when he noticed the door knob turning he did the first thing that came to mind. He ran for the door.

He threw all his weight against the door to keep the person trying to get in -- **out**. There was a loud yell on the other side, followed by colorful cursing. Yuki breathed in a sigh of relief but realized he wasn't out of the danger when there came a banging on his door and shouts from two distinct voices.

"_You damn rat! Get out-- NOW!" _

"Yuki! Yuki!"

Yuki nearly stepped back in surprise, but kept his position firm against the door. Whoever they were, Yuki knew they were male and… they knew his name. Holding the door shut proved to be too hard for his small frame, and he was quick to step back when the door was finally flung open.

Yuki blinked up at the boys in his room. "H-Hatsuharu?"

Haru smiled in relief upon seeing Yuki. He didn't know what he thought when the door was slammed in both their faces, but he was just glad Yuki didn't appear hurt. Kyou rolled his eyes, not bothering to keep the irritation from showing on his face.

"Bake neko…_!"_

Twitch.

'Don't get angry. Don't get angry. Don't get angry.' He chanted in his head. It seemed that he should start getting used to that term. Yuki was growing up and Kyou was well aware that Yuki started calling him that around nine or ten.

Voices carried out from the hallway and in walked Shigure and Hatori. Shigure had the characteristic grin on his face when he noticed everyone in the room. "Are we having a little wake-up party for Yuki? How sweet that you two have waited so long for our dear Yuki!"

"Tch." Kyou snapped his head away from the scene and quickly stalked out. He hated mornings, especially if he had to deal with more of Shigure's perverted remarks. He wasn't aware, however, of Yuki's contemplative look that followed him.

Hatori glanced at Yuki before averting his gaze. He was curious at this decidedly odd, though small, action. "You've been asleep later than usual, but breakfast can still be made ready."

Yuki paused. "Eto… why am I not in the Main House?"

Hatori looked down at Yuki's upturned face, his eyes widening a fraction to see a determined expression on Yuki's face. A nervous chuckle escaped Shigure's mouth as all the occupants in the room struggled for an explanation. Fortunately or not, Hatori had no qualms against lying outright.

"Do you not remember Akito's words?"

"A-Akito's… words…?" Yuki bowed his head, his clenched fists shaking. "Omoi dashita…" _I remember…_

"Sou desu ne.." _Is that so.. _Shigure spoke wonderingly, sharing a look with Hatori.

"Gomen nasai." Yuki bowed again and silently followed as Hatori led him out.

Hatsuharu, the only one left with Shigure, politely asked what Shigure was thinking.

Shigure merely smiled.

* * *

Yuki sighed to himself again, wondering at how odd everyone in this house looked. On the other hand, no matter how _old_ and _tall_ everyone seemed, his excitement had quickly won over. Even though Akito had told him he wasn't allowed to learn martial arts until the next year, he had figured out a way to catch a glimpse of what was going to happen that afternoon. He had spent a good portion of that night to think over his plan on getting out to watch the training but what he didn't remember was how he had left the Sohma Estate. 

Although he didn't like staying in the Sohma Estate, this was the one day he actually _wanted_ to be there. Yuki planned on hiding somewhere --_anywhere_-- to get a glimpse but… Yuki felt the beginnings of disappointment as he sat despondently on the couch. Not only would he miss his chance at getting to see the others train he would also--

Yuki blinked when Kyou suddenly appeared and sat beside him.

Kyou crossed his arms, his own hair shielding his eyes as he ducked his head.

Yuki unashamedly stared at him from his seat.

Silence…

"What the hell are you staring at?"

Yuki barely twitched at the brusque tone. He just realized something. Kazuma wouldn't, no _couldn't_ train the others if they weren't even there. Kyou was here so maybe…

"Kyou?"

Kyou snapped his head in his direction. "What."

"Why are you here?"

Taking the question in the wrong way, Kyou responded heatedly. "I _live_ here."

Yuki's eyes widened. "_Honto?_" _Really.._ Yuki tilted his head contemplatively. "What about Kazuma-sama?"

It was Kyou's turn to be baffled and he merely echoed Yuki's question. "K-Kazuma…?"

Yuki pursed his lips and slid off the couch. "_Baka_-neko."

Kyou opened his mouth to yell but Yuki had swiftly disappeared. Fuming silently, Kyou settled back on the couch. His thoughts were occupied on Yuki's seemingly random question. _'What is that nezumi talking about? Kazuma…?_'

Unbeknownst to either boy, Shigure was standing in the shadowed hallway, listening to the peculiar exchange with a knowing smile. He quietly stepped back and soundlessly made his way outside his house. It wasn't _too_ long ago that Shigure remembered it but he needed silence to mull over the events of the past. Shigure found it amusing that Kyou would have forgotten about his first martial arts lesson.

'After all, it was that very lesson which made Kyou the second best under Kazuma's teaching…'

Grinning to himself, he made his way to the back of the house and found Hatori already sitting at the back steps. Guessing from the trail of smoke lingering from Hatori's person, the stoic man was thinking of something quite deeply, no doubt needing silence to mull whatever it was over.

Shigure grinned and tiptoed closer. Just a foot away, Shigure took a deep breath and opened his mouth to yell--

…"HA--"

"No need to yell. I could hear you." Hatori cut in swiftly, barely twitching from his seat on the wooden steps.

"_Mou_.. _Ha-san!_" Shigure maintained the grin on his face as he took a seat beside his cousin. He leaned back casually, the grin gradually transforming into something more serious.

"Hatori…"

Hatori turned to him, his cigarette inches away from his mouth. He briefly wondered what his cousin wanted when he noticed Shigure's serious face--

…Shigure smiled.

"Want to hear a story?"

"No."

Shigure waved his hand in a reassuring manner, "It's a good story, Ha-san! And…" Shigure's smile widened. "It involves are very special cousins!"

Hatori flicked an interested eye in his direction.

Shigure took the hint and began his narration. "I just happened to be watching from a window. I could see…"

* * *

…A nine-year old Hatsuharu calmly stood on the clearing set aside for their martial arts training. He understood his parents wanted him to find an outlet for 'Black Haru' but what they didn't understand was that he had found that outlet. Yuki had helped him and Haru was grateful for the light feeling he now carried. 

If the other Sohmas had noticed Haru's seemingly perpetual calm, and they most certainly had, they would also wonder how it oddly stuck out in this situation.

"_KYOOUU! KYOOOUU! COME BACK! IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE SEEN YOU! I LOVE YOU KYOU!"_

"_AAARGGHH!!_"

Hatsuharu smiled as he tilted his head back to enjoy the light breeze. It certainly gave an odd picture to see a serene looking boy standing in the center of two other children running circles around him.

"_I - DON'T- WANT - TO - HUG - YOU!"_

"But… Kyou…" Kagura suddenly stopped in her sprint to stare across at Kyou. She tilted her head to the side to stare around Haru's immobile, yet serene stance, while tears gathered at the side of her eyes as she sent him an imploring look.

Kyou glared from where he was standing, also looking around Haru's body. His arms were crossed and the lethalness of the glare increased. "You better not move from your spot, Haru." Kyou hissed. "You're the only thing keeping that thing away and you better not--"

Hatsuharu, his serene smile and closed eyes, betrayed nothing as he took a step back.

'No.. He.. ---!?"

"KYOOUU!" Just as Kagura was going to run forward, the sound of footsteps on the clay ground caught their attention.

Kyou's eyes widened fractionally before he narrowed his eyes and unconsciously stood straighter. Kazuma sent a smile to the three children standing in front of him. He was fond of all three and was happy to teach them, if only to spend time with them. Kazuma was well aware of the… certain atmosphere that permeated the Sohma Estate's walls.

"Shall we begin?"

The chorus of agreement, especially from the peculiar Hatsuharu, brought another smile to Kazuma's face…

* * *

…"And then--" 

"--Gure-san? Ha-san?" Ayame's eyes alighted on the pair and he wasted no time in heading over. "What are you whispering in such a sordid manner, hm?"

Shigure wrapped an arm around Hatori'sneck and rested his head on Hatori's shoulder. "Why, I don't know what you're implying, Ayame. Do you Ha-san?"

"…let go Shigure."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about--"

"--_Mou_, Gure-san's cheating on me--"

"--_Shigure, let go_--"

"--Aa, Ha-san's shampoo smells so _nice_--"

"--_Gure-san! _How could you Ha-san--"

Hatori glared at both of his cousins, but found that he still wanted to hear the story. He opened his mouth--

"--_Aya, you can join--"_

--and promptly shut it. He could ask Shigure to continue it later.

* * *

Kyou crossed his arms beside his head as he lay on the couch. There was nothing particularly interesting today, save for the appearance of a nine-year-old Yuki. Kyou didn't want to admit it, but he was curious as to what Yuki meant when he asked about Kazuma. _'What was he talking about? Argh… stupid rat.'_

A motion from his right told Kyou that Hatsuharu had sat down on one of the chairs. The white-haired boy remained silent from his perched position on the chair, making no move to start up conversation.

'_Fine by me…_' Thought Kyou with a satisfied air.

"Ne, Kyou?"

Kyou merely grunted in response.

"…did something happen with Kazuma when Yuki was nine?"

Kyou sat up and stared at Haru. _'What is he talking about? Nine… Kazuma…'_ Kyou shrugged offhandedly, turning around so he could sit normally on the couch. "I don't know. Why?"

Hatsuharu rested his face on the palm of his hand. "Yuki… seems like he's waiting for something. I thought that if it deals with Kazuma, then you would know."

"Tch! I wouldn't know." Kyou closed his eyes in annoyance, wondering why the entire thing was irritating him so much.

"Do you think…? Hm.. Maybe… Yes, I think so." Haru slumped forward, resting his head on the palm of his hand as he closed his eyes and continued to mumble to himself.

Kyou shot him a look. "What are you going on about now?" Kyou had quickly become aware that while Haru was busy thinking about things that dealt with Yuki, he had the habit of mumbling to himself.

It **_really_** bothered Kyou.

"_Oi!_ What are you talking about?"

"…"

Kyou felt his eye twitching when he finally realized that Haru had fallen asleep. Gritting his teeth together, he resisted the urge to stand up and beat Haru up choosing instead to fall back against the couch and think about Haru's words. If it dealt with Kazuma then at the very least he should know something… right?

Cursing to himself, Kyou sat up again. Was there anything important going on when they were nine?

…_Strands whipped around a face was currently peeking from behind the bushes--_

--Kyou's eyes widened.

* * *

Yuki sighed as he paced his room. He couldn't get his mind off the chance to watch the others learn martial arts. He had already asked Kyou and Haru about Kazuma but all he received were confused stares. Yuki got impatient and cut both conversations off quickly. He had come to the conclusion that Kazuma might be teaching Kagura first, or has some type of order to gauge their potential before teaching them. Whatever it was, Yuki would be sure he'd make it to the first time. Even if Hatsuharu and Kyou wouldn't be there. 

_'I must see! I can't be locked up! I **won't** be locked up!'_ Yuki purposefully walked towards the door and slowly opened it. There was a large chance he would be caught by somebody but… _'It's not impossible.'_ Yuki thought to himself.

He tiptoed his way down the hallway and silently crept down the stairs until he was only several feet from the door. Pausing momentarily, he turned back so he could see the Hatsuharu and Kyou's heads but they weren't turned in his direction._ 'Eh? Haru's asleep…'_ Yuki smiled before letting his eyes rest on the side of Kyou's face.

Yuki hoped to see both boys in action and right now, he found he had the inexplicable urge to bring them along. _'Iie… maybe Akito forbade them from going like me.'_ Yuki frowned but quickly covered his mouth before he let out a gasp because at that moment Kyou's head was turning around to face him--

Kyou jumped to his feet. "_EH?! NEZUMI--!!?"_

The yell effectively woke up Hatsuharu from his light doze, who looked up with a dazed expression.

Kyou pointed at Yuki. "_NANI O SHITE IRU!?" WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?…_

Yuki froze for the briefest moments when he met Kyou's eyes but he turned around and ran for the door. Kyou muttered angrily under his breath (_"K'so!"_) before taking off after the boy. Hatsuharu stood up to follow but stopped himself. He watched as Kyou ran out, managing to shut the door behind himself before pelting after the boy.

Haru was pretty sure about what Yuki was thinking but he found that it would be best for Kyou to take care of the situation. _'Hm… I'll have to cover for them.' _Haru sat back down on the chair, staring blankly at the shut door. _'Kyou… better take care of him.'_

_

* * *

_

Yuki didn't know how long they had been running, but it had been quite awhile. Although he managed to hide in several places to catch his breath, Kyou seemed to have limitless energy. Yuki nearly stumbled as he ran, but he kept on going. In hindsight, Yuki realized he had no idea where the Sohma Estate was from this place so technically, he wasn't running _anywhere_. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face as he turned his back to see if Kyou was catching up.

He was. **Fast**.

Yuki was already panting from the run but he kept on pushing himself to go faster. _'…doshite watashi-no…'_ …_why me_…

"_OI! MATTE!!" _Judging by how close the yell came, Kyou was nearly on him.

Yuki sighed, stopping completely to just sit down and lean back. He was exhausted and Yuki had to concede that if he didn't stop soon he might have some serious trouble breathing. He tilted his head up to look up at Kyou.

Said boy had an angry look on his face as he stared down at him. "Why the hell did you run out? Where'd you think you were going? Do you even **_know_**? You could've gotten hurt or something. _Tch_.. **baka**."

Yuki stared up at the boy in surprise.

Kyou was aware of the stare and averted his face, ignoring the blush that was creeping onto his face. "What? It's not like I cared or anything…" He silently held out his hand.

"Shinjirarenai.." _Unbelievable._

Kyou's eye twitched.

"..._sankyuu_." And Yuki grasped his hand and was gingerly pulled up.

Kyou shrugged impatiently, quickly letting go of Yuki's hand. He turned away from the boy and much to Yuki's surprise, kneeled down.

"Get on."

Yuki blinked. _Did Kyou want him to…?_

"Well? You're obviously tired. You might have… you know, an attack or something."

"An _attack_?" Yuki asked in bewilderment, completely thrown off by Kyou's new behavior.

"_Oi_! Are you going to get on or not?"

Yuki hid a smile at the impatient tone and encircled Kyou's neck with his arms. Yuki found himself laughing in surprise when Kyou stood up, arms holding his legs securely. Yuki rested his head on Kyou's shoulder, ignoring the brief moment Kyou stiffened. Yuki didn't know what to make of this new side to Kyou. It was a far cry from hot-tempered boy Yuki knew.

It was like this that the two arrived back at Shigure's house, Kyou giving a now sleeping Yuki a piggy-back ride.

* * *

"--should be bringing him back now." Haru finished, passively staring at the surprised faces of the Mabudachi Trio. 

Hatori nodded seriously, eyes checking the clock. Meanwhile--

"Kyon-kichi has gone to rescue my cute, little brother--"

"--_oh_, Kyou's going to make his move soon--"

"--so romantic, ne Ha-san--"

"Kyou." Haru pointed behind the three of them. Kyou was standing at the foot of the stairs, no Yuki in sight. The apparent twitch in his right eye was proof that he had heard both Ayame and Shigure's comments.

Ayame stood up, the cheerful expression replaced by a concerned one when he noticed the absence of his brother. "Yuki…?"

"He's asleep." Kyou muttered, his eyes closed.

Everyone stared in surprise as Ayame moved forward, seemingly in a confronting manner. Kyou actually took a step back when Ayame didn't show signs of stopping.

"Hey--"

Ayame strode past him and headed up the stairs.

Shigure 'hmmed', tilting his head with a smile as he watched Ayame disappear up the stairs. "He's worried, ne?"

Hatori, and the others, remained silent.

* * *

Kyou craned his head back as far as it could go to see what Shigure and Hatori were doing. The two had stepped away from both Kyou and Haru to talk about something before heading up the stairs after Ayame. Kyou had clearly heard Shigure laugh and say something was 'cute'… 

"Do you see anything Kyou?" Haru asked politely.

Kyou snapped his back. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Why don't you go look yourself, you stupid cow." Kyou shot him a challenging glare, his hands flexing in preparation for 'Black Haru's' appearance. The appearance never came leaving a disappointed Kyou who was looking for something to distract him.

A small smile hovered on Haru's lips."Do you remember what Yuki was asking about now?"

Vermilion eyes slidaway fromHaru's form. "Un…"

* * *

…The afternoon air rang with the enthused voices of two boys. Their friendly one-on-one duel had been brief at best, though both boys enjoyed it. Kazuma smiled at their glowing faces, nodding at Kagura who was tugging at his sleeve to let her try. Kyou grinned up at Kazuma, nodding hurriedly at the advice Kazuma was telling both he and Haru. 

Kyou didn't even complain when Kagura convinced Kazuma to let her try with Haru. He plopped himself down on the ground, idly watching the spar until a motion in the corner of his eye made him turn his head. The large bushes rustled from a slight breeze, but the head peeking from around it was obvious to Kyou's eyes.

'..Yuki..!'

Kyou glared, ready to turn away at the sight of the boy until something in his face made him take a closer look. Yuki had yet to notice that someone had seen him but something expressed in his face made Kyou pause.

Kagura suddenly shrieked with laughter when Haru tackled her prompting an exasperate Kazuma to come over.

Kyou watched Yuki sigh.

"I don't suggest doing that again Haru."

Kyou caught Yuki's eyes.

"Hai!"

Yuki turned his head away and disappeared behind the bushes.

"Kyou, what are you looking at?" Kyou angrily pushed the hand off from atop his head, annoyed at the gesture. Kazuma smiled down at the boy before looking in the direction Kyou was staring at with curiosity. "See anything interesting?"

"…ne, Kazuma-sama? Is Yuki going to be learning with us too?"

Astonishment flashed through Kazuma's face before he smiled. "Soon, I believe."

"…hmph." Kyou noticed the inquisitive gaze directed at him and shrugged. "It's not like I care."

Turning, Kyou walked over to Haru and Kagura, leaving a smiling Kazuma behind him...

* * *

Ayame made sure to keep his footsteps light as he walked through the hallway. He knew Hatsuharu and Kyou were downstairs with no Yuki in sight. After hearing Shigure's story, especially after Hatori surprised the two of them with insisting the writer to finish it, Ayame was compelled to visit Yuki. He had been more than worried when he heard from Haru that Yuki had most likely run away to head back to the Sohma Estate. _'If anyone had found about Yuki as he is now…_' Ayame shuddered at the thought. 

He turned the doorknob with one hand, the other laying on the door to swing it open soundlessly. The sunlight reflecting from the polished floor caused Ayame to blink his eyes at the sudden lighting but he soon got used to it. He looked across the room and found Yuki sleeping on his bed.

There was the softest smiles gracing Yuki's face as he slept, completely unaware of his older brother's gaze. He was turned over on his side, his arms willful cushions as Yuki unconsciously cradled his head on them. Even with the sunlight pouring in, nothing stirred in Yuki's face.

Ayame slowly leaned his head back on the doorway of the room, hesitant in what he wanted to do. After a brief pause,he stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. He silently crept to the other side of the bed and eased himself on. By some stroke of luck, Yuki never budged from his spot when the bed dipped.

Ayame let out a small laugh under his breath as he leaned over and brushed a few strands of hair from Yuki's face. "_Yuki, shatei…" **Y**uki, my little brother…_

Yuki frowned in his sleep.

Ayame's fingers hovered above the side of his brother's face, not daring to move for fear of waking him. To his complete and utter surprise, Yuki turned over and immediately sought out the only warmth present.

Ayame.

Before the snake of the zodiac knew it, Yuki had turned over and burrowed himself in his older brother's arms. For a moment, Ayame didn't know how to react. He'd never imagined being close to Yuki, not after their particular childhood.

Hoping that Yuki wouldn't wake up, Ayame settled comfortably on the bed until he too was resting his head on Yuki's pillow. Yuki had apparently settled on using Ayame as his new head cushion because he snuggled in closer, tucking his head under Ayame's chin.

Smiling gently, Ayame wrapped protective arms around him and closed his eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** What do you think? Good? Bad? I noticed a lot of scene changes and I apologize for that but the entire chapter was playing like an episode in my head and the change seemed fine..Anyway, I'll have to do a bit of tricky imagination to keep both of these fruits basket stories going. Filling in the gaps and whatnot. How do you think _that_ is going? 

**Y**ou noticed that capital 'y' in there? I was looking up the proper spelling of little brother and found this: _Ototochan - little bro. (this word is also Ototo, with a long o sound. Now, my book doesn't have a suffix to it and I add -chan for the same reason's as I did for Oniichan. But when saying "my little brother" the word becomes "shatei." When saying "your little brother" it is "reitei" or "ototogo.")_ and I wasn't completely sure so I'm citing my source here.. XD

**M**y favorite scene in writing this has to be that brotherly moment they had… if only that was a real episode… I would love it. XD

**I** thought it was fun writing the in-betweens with the flashbacks. I'm trying to make it as realistic, in terms of manga and/or anime terms, as I can. I've always thought about what happened when the Sohma's were young and all. Hasn't anyone else thought about it? But really, that's the main cause for the slow updates… it's hard to think up of things that could have happened in Yuki's childhood. Even though I think the past few chapters were easier to write, making up scenes of Yuki when he's twelve or thirteen might be more difficult… oh well, I'm sure we've all wondered about that… right? Is that just me… TT…

**I**f anyone is wondering about the beginning, when Akito told Yuki that someone might hear, I'd like to explain it here. I know it might seem odd to the readers because Akito is head and all. But you have to remember that he's still considered a child here, and he's not immune to any punishments, or I guess in his case, severe reprimanding. Let's assume this is some childish fear of being caught, Akito's human after all.. Eheh.. XD I do hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave a review to tell me what you think!

IMPORTANT: IF YOU WANT UPDATES, LEAVE YOUR EMAIL AND A MESSAGE SAYING SO! **_HOWEVER_** YOU MUST PUT SPACES BETWEEN EACH LETTER FOLLOWING THE "AT" SIGN! FOR EXAMPLE, USING MY OWN EMAIL!

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THAT'S HOW YOU SHOULD DO IT IF YOU WANT ME TO PERSONALLY EMAIL YOU WHEN I UPDATE!


	5. Day 5

**Title**: Second Chances

**Author**: Gia

**E-Mail**: http/ sbborg . cjb . net

**Rating**: G

**Pairing**: None

**Time**: Present time during the anime. However, taking place during summer vacation.

**Summary**: What if Ayame had a second chance to make up for Yuki's childhood? Yuki has reverted into a 6yr-old, with no recollection of his older self. How will everyone react? How will Akito react to this?

**Disclaimer**: I own not a thing. Besides, if I did. You wouldn't be reading this. You'd be watching it. XD

**Author** **Notes**: I needed some fresh ideas to write more chapters for this fanfic so I started reading the manga… **_HOLY MERDE! CHAPTERS 84 AND 85 ARE SO SAD!_**I gained a lot of ideas now, not to mention more information on Yuki's past… hence, I must say that you can expect some drama… much drama. XD

* * *

'_When I was very young, the world was Akito, my mother, and the scenery I saw past the sliding door. That was all.'_

**F**_l_**a**_s_**h**_b_**a**_c_**k**

…The bright day contrasted greatly with shaded rooms of the Main Sohma House. There was more talk within the house, much more than was to be expected on a perfectly ordinary day. At least, ordinary by the Sohma standards.

"I'_m_ w_o_r_r_i_e_d _f_o_r_ t_h_e _b_o_y_." whispered one of the maids, nudging another when she motioned with her head towards the closed, sliding doors. The other didn't even bother to reply, merely shaking her head with pursed lips.

The reason for the concern of the staff was one ten-year old Yuki. His own frail condition, not widely known at first, had quickly become apparent to the maids tending to the house. Having worked there for many years (_indeed, it was their own family's tradition), _they had all grown accustomed to the children of the zodiac—especially the frequent visitor of the Main House, Sohma Yuki.

"_W_h_e_r_e_'s _t_h_e_ d_o_c_t_o_r_—" began an indignant maid before she was harshly shushed by the others. At that moment, an elderly man had passed by, presumably the doctor that tended most frequently to Yuki's needs.

**_C_**o**_u_**g**_h_**,**_ c_**o**_u_**g**_h…_**

"His coughs… it just keeps getting worse, doesn't it? Is it alright not having him lying down?"

The man sighed tiredly. "It's probably easier for him to breathe, so it would be better to leave him that way for now."

**_C_**o**_u_**g**_h_**,**_ c_**o**_u_**g**_h…_**

"Poor Yuki… it's alright for me to talk to him right?" Akito smiled disarmingly up at the doctor.

"—you're very kind, Akito-sama."

Akito glanced to his left, just noticing an elderly woman standing nearby. As far as he knew, she was just one of the grandmothers of the 'normal' Sohma children who happened to be passing by until she heard talk of calling the doctor. _'Somehow, her comments disgust me. Of course, the entire world is like that… disgusting.'_

After hearing no response from him, she tried again. "But staying too close to him is probably…" she trailed off expectantly.

"What are you worrying about, it's nothing contagious after all." Akito felt the beginning of a smirk come to his face as he noticed the flash of disappointment flit across the woman's face. It wasn't exactly unheard of to hear of the Sohma parents wanting to get into the Head's good graces.

**_C_**o**_u_**g**_h_**,**_ c_**o**_u_**g**_h…_**

"If there's any change," Akito stepped back into the room where Yuki was, "I'll let you know right away." And slid the doors shut.

Akito slowly turned around to face the other boy. Yuki was only slightly reclined against the back of the chair, a thick blanket tossed over his lap. The coughing had abated for now, but the quiet room was now filled with the labored breathing of the ten-year-old.

Akito stepped closer, bending his head so he could meet Yuki's eyes. "Are you going to die?" The question itself was stated with nonchalance, but it was enough to catch Yuki's attention. Noting the widening of the boy's eyes, Akito verbally prodded him for a response. "Yuki?"

Akito rocked on the balls of his feet, the smallest laugh escaping from his lips. "Hey," Akito tilted his head with a growing smile, "are you dying?"

**_C_**o**_u_**g**_h_**,**_ c_**o**_u_**g**_h…_**

The smile he carried on his face bled away. "…how pathetic." Akito muttered, gracefully sitting down in the spot he was just standing on. For awhile, neither of them spoke. It was Akito's chance to survey Yuki and make note of the many similarities they shared. For they shared, Akito was sure, a bond closer than anyone could imagine.

Just as Akito was about to speak, the appearance of a large silhouette behind the doors silenced him. Akito turned his head, wondering if it was the doctor checking on Yuki's condition.

"_T_h_e_y _d_o_n_'_t_ c_o_m_e_ t_o _v_i_s_i_t, _d_o _t_h_e_y?"

Even Akito had to blink in astonishment. It was clear that the two gossiping women on the either side assumed neither he nor Yuki could hear them. _'Fools…_' Still, Akito wondered what the two could be talking about… and if it dealt with Yuki, then surely the reaction from the boy would be well worth to see.

"_Y_o_u_ m_e_a_n _h_i_s _p_a_r_e_n_t_s_?" the other questioned. There was a pause, and what sounded like a derisive laugh. "O_f_ c_o_u_r_s_e_ t_h_e_y_ d_o_n_'_t. _D_o_n_'t _y_o_u_ k_n_o_w_? T_h_e _t_w_o_ o_f_ t_h_e_m_ a_r_e _i_n _t_h_e _m_i_d_d_l_e_ o_f_ a _t_r_i_p."

"_E_h...!_? B_u_t_ t_h_e_n_ w_h_a_t_ a_bo_u_t_ h_i_s _b_r_o_t_h_e_r_?"

Akito's eyes gleamed at the question and he used the pause after the question to look at Yuki. The ten-year-old was already sitting up, one hand forcefully keeping his coughs back as he focused on the conversation outside.

"A_l_l _h_e _s_a_i_d _w_a_s_ **oh**."

There was a sound of disbelief from the other woman, for at that time, they began to walk away from the door. A final question drifted through the door before the woman disappeared.

"B_y_ t_h_a_t_… d_o_e_s_n_'t _h_e _u_n_d_e_r_s_t_a_n_d_ t_h_a_t _i_t_'s _a_b_o_u_t_ h_i_s _y_o_u_n_g_e_r _b_r_o_t_h_e_r?"

The response was never heard, but the damage was already done. Smiling to himself, Akito rose fluidly from his kneeling spot on the matted floor. He walked towards Yuki, who by the end of the conversation, had hunched over as if to protect himself from them.

Akito gently laid his hand on Yuki's shoulder, his tight grip the only sign that the comfort was fake. "So… are you dying now, Yuki?"

**E**_n_**d** _o_**f** _F_**l**_a_**s**_h_**b**_a_**c**_k_

* * *

The sun was already high in the sky by noon, its rays almost blinding to the eyes. In particular, it was blinding to a ten-year-old Yuki's eyes. He groaned at the harsh glare, turning his whole body away to ignore its rays. The entire situation wouldn't be too bad, if not for one thing.

Yuki was sick.

Yuki clenched his eyes shut, the sudden pain in his head and chest making it hard to form thought. _'Not again…_' Yuki thought despairingly, his hands reaching up to stifle the coughs that suddenly wracked his body. He didn't know when he was moved to a bed but after that conversation he overheard…

Yuki only clenched his eyes tighter. _'I'm not…_'

Any further thoughts were cut off as soon as the door to his room was thrown wide open. The sound of the impact was enough to stun Yuki from his troubling thoughts but it provided one, very prominent question.

_'O-ONIICHAN?'_

"_YUKI_! _YOUR WONDERFUL BROTHER HAS COME TO WAKE YOU UP FROM YOUR SLUMBER!_"

Ayame, in all his flowery glory, strode into Yuki's room with a purpose. Namely, to wake up his adorably confused brother. The heated blush on his face was so red that Ayame was sure it would become permanent.

"_COME, LET ME CARRY YOU OUT OF BED AND WHISK YOU AWAY—"_

Unfortunately for the both of them, Ayame was unaware of Yuki's current condition and Yuki himself wasn't prepared to be lifted so quickly from his bed. The action was not only making him light-headed, but quite nauseated.

"…"

Ayame had to pride himself in not dropping Yuki. He wouldn't have, of course, but he was **_very_** surprised when his adorable brother threw up on his person…

"—**_HATORI-SAN!_**"

* * *

Kyou grumbled under his breath, slamming the door to the washer harder than needed. Since that morning, he had been pressured by Shigure to do various duties that the writer could have done by himself. 

_"Kyon-kichi!"_ Shigure sing-songed, popping his head into the utility room. "Could bring a blanket? The one Yuki has isn't thick enough."

**Twitch**. "GET IT YOURSELF!"

Shigure gasped in mock-outrage. "How **_dare_** you say that, Kyou! Poor Yuki is teetering between life and death and—"

"—NO HE ISN'T!—"

"—all you can do is complain—"

"—YOU'RE JUST LAZY, YOU FU—"

Shigure opened his mouth to gasp again until a shadow fell across both he and Kyou. The ominous feeling that suddenly enveloped the two of them quickly ceased the yelling.

"**Blanket**." Hatori intoned with a deep voice, his eyes flashing.

"Eheh… calm down Hatori." Shigure raised his hands defensively. "We know how uptight you are about taking care of your patients…" On cue, Kyou appeared beside Shigure with a blanket in his hand. Kyou wordlessly handed it over and only mumbled curses under his breath when Hatori was a good deal away from hearing range.

"_Kowai_…" _Scary… _Shigure laughed nervously to himself.

Hatsuharu came into the utility room right after Hatori had left. He eyed the tense postures of both Shigure and Kyou. "You already got the blanket?"

"Yeah, we did." Kyou gestured impatiently to Shigure. "Get out! What are we even doing waiting in here!"

—To which Shigure cheerfully remarked that Kyou had dragged him in to do unspeakable things.

"_Sou desu ne_…" _Is that so… _Haru muttered thoughtfully. "Then I'll leave so you can continue—"

"_BAKA!_ IT'S NOT TRUE!" With surprising strength, Kyou grabbed Shigure the front of his clothes and lifted him into the air. "**Tell him**."

**Sweatdrop**.

Shigure eyed the flames burning in Kyou's eyes. "But _Kyon-kichi_—"

The grip tightened.

"—eheh.. it's just a joke, Haru."

Kyou turned his head expectantly to hear the docile agreement from a White Haru until he noticed that his cousin was no longer standing there.

Shigure raised his finger, whilst still suspended in the air. "He left to be polite, _ne_ Kyou?"

Kyou promptly let go.

"Run."

* * *

Yuki shifted under the blanket feeling unbearably hot. If it weren't for the heat, Yuki would've been able to process the odd events happening around him. Like how a much older Kyou was chasing an equally older Shigure around the living room. Or why a seemingly adult Hatori was tending to him when it was always Dr. Isumi who visited him.

Not to mention, why his brother was at his side to put a cold compress over his forehead.

The words _'all he said was **oh**'_ flashed across Yuki's mind and he shrank away from Ayame's touch. The action wasn't hard to miss, and Ayame stilled his hand from reaching over to brush Yuki's hair back.

"Yuki…" Ayame trailed off. The excited look in his eyes at his brother's wakefulness faded away. _'Did I forget something that happened…? At ten… I only remember…' _Ayame's head shot up.

"Yuki, I—"

**BAM!**

Something sailed through the air, a chair on closer inspection, that effectively knocked a running Shigure off his feet.

"I have you now." Kyou grinned triumphantly, flexing his hands in preparation.

Beads of sweat began to appear along Shigure's brow before he came up with an idea. "_Kyou_," Shigure put a hand to his cheek, "not in front of little Yuki! If you wanted it so badly, we could go into my bedroom—"

**Twitch**. "Why you—" Kyou paused and slowly turned his head. There sat a ten-year-old Yuki, flushed from a fever, and with wide eyes, stared up at Kyou. "Tch. Forget it."

Shigure inwardly cheered and glanced at Ayame to share his relief until he noticed the emotions flitting through his eyes. _'What's this…?'_

Hatori, too, had noticed the odd tension between Yuki and Ayame. He came up behind the latter, resting a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Why don't you take the others out for now while I take care of Yuki."

It wasn't really a question.

Without a word, Ayame stood and left, the others silently in tow. Hatori watched Shigure, the last one to leave. He didn't have to wait long before Shigure turned back to nod his head in acknowledgement.

Shigure would talk to Ayame.

Returning the nod, Hatori looked back down at Yuki. The boy's head was bowed down, his hair blocking his face from view. It was a sight that Hatori was very familiar with, at least, before Yuki joined Shigure in his home. Sighing wearily, Hatori bent down so he could be eye-level with Yuki. In one hand, he held on to the stethoscope and in the other he held a glass of water. The medicine tablet was still in its case but Hatori would give that to him when he deemed it necessary.

"Breathe." He instructed quietly, listening to Yuki's chest.

Yuki did so without further prompting, his head now turned away from Hatori. '_His behavior now is a far-cry from how it used to be..'_ Hatori could only wonder what Shigure would learn from Ayame.

* * *

"This is your chance for some bonding! Why don't you eat at the new Soumen shop down the street together, ne?" Shigure waved cheerfully from the driver's seat, Ayame (_in the passenger's seat)_ waving just as cheerfully. "_Ne, ne_, come home for dinner! You two behave yourselves!"

Kyou had one hand raised in anger, the twitch in his eye growing more pronounced after each exclamation from the two in the car. "_Oi!_ What are you doing leaving us here!" He glanced at Haru. "DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!"

Haru blinked and waved back.

"_Ja_, Kyon-kichi, Haru!" And they drove off.

"_ARGH! THOSE BASTARDS!_" Kyou glared at the people looking at the two of them, smirking in satisfaction when they turned their attention away.

"Those stupid—what're we supposed to do now, huh?" Kyou threw his hands up in frustration. "When I see them… I'm going to kill—"

"Kyou." Haru pointed past Kyou.

Kyou stopped his tirade to turn around and follow Haru's line of sight. "What?"

"Let's go to the Soumen Shop." He stated simply.

"_ARGH!_"

* * *

Shigure couldn't help but snicker to himself as he eyed the disappearing boys from his rear view mirror. He had no doubt that Kyou and Haru could take care of themselves but it was just so fun to rile Kyou up.

Shigure suddenly sobered when he remembered why he left those two out. He looked at Ayame through the corner of his eye, taking in the saddened posture of the normally confident man.

There was never an easy way to bring up Yuki as a topic of conversation. From what Shigure remembered of his time spent with Ayame, the boy had never once mentioned his younger brother to them. Shigure _did_ recall mentioning Yuki…

_…Shigure shifted in the desk to get more comfortable. He, Ayame, and Hatori had stayed in one of the classrooms to work on a project together. All the research they had down was strewn over multiple desks, of which Hatori was currently bent over to look at. Ayame was sitting atop one of the cleared desks, humming and winking at Shigure alternatively. Shigure gave a small laugh and suddenly leaned forward._

_"I was wondering… have your forgotten your brother's name?"_

_Ayame had unconsciously been swinging his legs at the time, but when he heard the question, he stilled. The pause was brief, however, before Ayame leaned back to rest his palms on the desk. "His name…" he muttered softly in thought._

_Hatori abruptly strode past Ayame and Shigure to the door of the classroom._

_"Ha-san…?"_

_"Please stop it." Hatori kept his back to the two. "That's enough." His grip on the doorway of the classroom tightened, before relaxing with his next words. "It's stupid."_

_Shigure tilted his head in confusion as he watched Hatori walk away. "What was…that…?" Shigure's eyes widened when he look at Ayame's face. _

_Ayame's eyes were narrowed at the spot Hatori stood, and he was biting his lip so hard that Shigure was sure it would break skin. "Aya…?"_

_Ayame pushed himself off the desk. "Let's go."_

_Shigure nodded, still confused, and followed Ayame out…_

…but that had done nothing to explain what kind of relationship Ayame truly had with his younger brother.

"Our parents," Ayame suddenly spoke, "sold Yuki for their own gain and used him as their tool."

Shigure had to forcibly stop himself from braking. It was almost as if Ayame had read his mind and was explaining himself in accordance to Shigure's silent questions. Giving Ayame a sharp glance, Shigure quickly found an empty parking spot in front of an antique store. After putting the car into park, Shigure turned to face Ayame. He hadn't expected Ayame to speak up so suddenly, especially with words such as those. How was anyone supposed to respond to words like that?

Ayame kept his eyes from meeting Shigure's, choosing instead to lean his head against the window of the car. "In the house we lived in, it was almost too easy for me to avoid him. But when he did see me, I always managed to disappear before he could approach me."

Ayame closed his eyes, his mind recalling the memories of the past. "And then one day… he stopped. He never took a step towards me when he caught sight of me, which was fine with me." He opened his eyes, the green a startling shade darker than before. "I too, sold him out to gain my own liberty."

And suddenly, Shigure knew exactly what Ayame meant. _'All those times he spent with us… Ayame spent every moment he could've spent with Yuki, **with us**.'_ The realization unsettled Shigure more than he would've liked, but Ayame continued.

"_Ne, _Shigure_-san_, did you know that I overheard something at the Main House."

Shigure looked up at the words.

"I never had to avoid Yuki now so I could just walk past him… but then I heard…"

**F**_l_**a**_s_**h**_b_**a**_c_**k**

It was one of the few times he visited the Main House, the reason for his presence now was to congratulate Hatori on graduating from the University for Medicine. It came to no surprise to anyone that Hatori planned on joining the clinic belonging to the Sohmas, although it would be awhile before he was allowed to actually tend to anyone. Ayame was just on his way to leave the foreboding Main House when he caught sight of Yuki walking down the very hallway he was in. Unknowingly bracing himself, Ayame walked faster.

He barely flinched as he walked past Yuki.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Ayame was compelled to turn around. Yuki never lifted his head, or made any sign that he was aware of Ayame's presence.

and then Yuki stopped walking in the middle of the hallway.

For a brief moment of panic, Ayame expected Yuki to turn around but the real reason made it known fairly quickly.

_A laugh._

It came drifting through the hallway, from the rice paper doors that were neatly closed. Of course, being made of rice paper, sound wasn't easily masked. The laughter itself wasn't particularly chilling or anything of the like, so Ayame wondered what could have caused Yuki to stop. It only left the content of the conversation… Ayame tilted his head to the side to listen to the words floating from behind the doors.

"_I _h_e_a_r_ t_h_a_t_ Y_u_k_i-_s_a_n'_s_ p_a_r_e_n_t_s a_r_e _r_e_a_l_l_y _l_i_v_i_n_g _i_t _u_p."

Ayame's eyes widened at the mention of his parents.

"_E_v_e_n _t_h_o_u_g_h _t_h_e_y_'r_e _a_l_s_o _p_a_r_e_n_t_s_ o_f_ p_o_s_s_e_s_se_d_ c_h_i_l_d_r_e_n_, t_h_e _m_o_u_s_e_ i_s_ o_f_ s_p_e_c_i_a_l _s_t_a_t_u_s. _Y_o_u_'r_e_ g_u_a_r_a_n_t_e_e_d_ d_i_f_f_e_r_e_n_t _t_h_i_n_g_s, l_i_k_e_ a_l_l_o_w_a_n_c_e_s_ a_n_d _p_o_s_i_t_i_o_n_s_."

The words caused a frown to mar Ayame's face, and he was prepared to just turn and leave—until the woman spoke again.

"_A_n_d_ o_n_ t_o_p _o_f _t_h_a_t, _t_h_e_y _s_o_l_d _h_i_m_ o_f_f _t_o _t_h_e _h_e_a_d_… T_h_e_y_'r_e_ l_e_a_v_i_n_g _o_u_t _n_o_t_h_i_n_g _t_o _g_e_t_ o_n_ h_i_s _g_o_o_d _s_i_d_e." There was a laugh shared between the two talking behind the doors.

"_I_t'_s_ h_u_m_a_n _s_a_c_r_i_f_i_c_e_, y_o_u _c_a_n_'_t_ c_o_p_y_ t_h_a_t_."

Even more incensed than before, Ayame turned heel and stalked off…

**E**n**d **o**f **f**l**a**s**h**b**a**c**k

"Human sacrifice…" Ayame repeated faintly. "I never thought of it as like that."

Shigure had half a mind to put a hand on Ayame's shoulder, to convey some kind of assurance but something stopped him. This was something that Shigure couldn't touch on, and that fact alone made the situation all the scarier.

* * *

Shigure left Ayame to his own thoughts as he drove back to where they had dropped off Haru and Kyou. Shigure wasn't too surprised to see that Haru and Kyou weren't there, but he _was_ when he found them at the Soumen Shop Ayame recommended. This time, he held his tongue from teasing Kyou for Ayame's sake.

Even though they had no idea what transpired in the car, both Haru and Kyou sensed the tense atmosphere and chose to not to say a word. The day had gone by quicker than usual—they hardly spent any time with Yuki, Shigure realized.

_'Wonder how Hatori held up with a sick Yuki_.' Shigure idly wondered, as he pulled up towards his home. The fact that his house was so far away from the city afforded Shigure a great deal of privacy but it was sometimes bothersome when he had to drive for so long to get to anywhere he needed to be.

The four trooped to the front door of his house, the two younger boys keeping a good distance away as if sensing Shigure's need to speak to Ayame alone.

The open door loomed ahead. Shigure didn't want Ayame to walk in with such a depressed nature, "Ayame, maybe you should—"

But Ayame was no longer listening. Ayame had alarm written all over his face as he pushed past Shigure to get into the house. It was only then that Shigure realized that something was very off.

The door was left open.

All the lights were shut off.

"**_HATORI!_**" came the strangled yell from within the house. Simultaneously, the three left standing outside rushed in. The sight they took in wasn't something they would forget.

There lay Hatori, unconscious on the floor and bleeding from a cut on his head—and no Yuki in sight.

* * *

**A/N**: Oh, cliffhanger! What will happen now! XD I've taken a look a both of these stories and I've realized that this one tends to be more on the angsty side… that is to say, it's not as light-hearted as **Brotherly Love**. Although, judging by what I've written so far for the next chapter of **Brotherly Love**, there are definitely some angsty scenes… heh.

**A**nyway, I needed some ideas for the chapters to come in both this story and **Brotherly Love**, so I finally picked up the Fruits Basket manga… and did **_a lot_** of reading.. thus, I now have many, many ideas.. XD The order of it the flashbacks will be off, since the majority of what takes place in the manga is before Yuki is even thirteen.. but for my story's sake, I'm moving things around. So if you've read the manga and noticed the odd arrangement of scenes, that's only because I need it to fit the timeline of my own stories. Yes, it's the same for both this one and **Brotherly Love**.

**T**he asterisk in the beginning of the chapter is a quote from chapter 85 of Fruits Basket. I used some scenes I saw from the manga and I'm planning on using them to my advantage for all the chapters to come. You should probably expect to see mention of some of the past memories in future chapters! XD

**O**verall, the story has been pretty… bleak. Well, I hope that some scenes helped to lighten it up a bit… a teeny bit, but a bit nonetheless. XD It took me ages to write this chapter because I keep deleting whatever I wrote. The entire chapter is **completely** different from the one I had already planned. Which is lucky for you all because I'm planning on using that for the next chapter! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to reading more!


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